Days Go On
by ghost-wiring
Summary: Diva Melody Wilde is in love with her boyfriend Wade Barrett, but when she's sidelined, she spends a week with her longtime friend CM Punk. The two realize they have feelings for each other and Mel must decide between her best friend and her boyfriend.
1. Friends

She hung limp on the ropes, her dark hair obscuring her vision. She heard her opponent closing in and then a pummeling blow landed hard on her lower back. Eve pulled her down onto the mat, rolling her up into a pin. The ref counted one, two, three and it was over. The crowd cheered wildly as Eve danced around the ring, picking up her newly earned championship belt and proudly displaying it for all of the WWE Universe to see.

The official bent down over her. There was real concern in his voice when he spoke.

"Are you okay, Melody?"

"I'm fine," she snarled, rubbing her back and wincing in pain.

Eve made her exit amidst deafening applause. Once she was gone, Melody slid out of the ring. With great effort, she slowly limped up the ramp and through the backstage area. She brushed off several concerned trainers on her way to the locker room. Once inside, she sighed heavily and collapsed onto a bench, a radiating pain shooting through her lower back and down her leg. The pain and the agony over her loss brought tears to her eyes.

It wasn't supposed to end that way. It was scripted that Eve was supposed to win the belt that night but it shouldn't have come so soon. She could remember feeling dizzy and falling onto the ropes. Next thing she knew the match was over and she'd lost the title. It shamed her that a moment of weakness had made her look like a fool in front of a crowd that was already roaring with animosity for "Wild Child" Melody Wilde.

"You looked sloppy out there tonight."

She looked behind her and found CM Punk standing in the doorway, grinning ear to ear.

"Fuck you, Brooks," she said with a smile.

"Seriously though, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I just got dizzy."

"It looked like you blacked out for a second."

"I said, I'm fine. Why are you so concerned anyway?"

He gasped and put a hand over his mouth in mock astonishment. "I'm shocked! You obviously don't value our friendship if you think I wouldn't come and check on you for inexplicably passing out. And besides, you know that CM stands for caring man."

"More like conniving manipulator," she said, grinning.

He frowned and walked the distance to the bench, sitting down beside her. Up close he could see that she'd been crying.

"What's going on, Mel? You've been acting a little strange lately to say the least."

"What do you mean?" she asked, wiping at her eyes.

"You haven't been yourself the past couple of weeks. You're making mistakes in the ring and you're dragging around like you've got the weight of the world on your shoulders." He studied her face as her dark eyes looked only at the floor. "Is something going on between you and Wade?"

She shrugged and continued to avoid eye contact. "We're fine. Everything's fine."

"You know you don't have to pretend for me."

At last she looked into his olive eyes. He was staring at her intently, that look of affection that he reserved for her alone.

"We've been arguing a lot. I'm pretty sure he cheated on me."

Punk sighed and rolled his eyes. "He's such a prick."

"Don't be mad at him," she pleaded.

"Don't be mad? Mel, he's making you miserable! I've never seen you so unhappy in all the years that we've known each other."

"We're trying to work things out. I love him."

Punk closed his eyes and sighed. He slid an arm around her waist pulling her into a hug.

"I know you love him, but you can't go on letting him hurt you the way he does. I can't stand to see you so sad all the time."

"It's going to get better. He just…" She dropped off not wanting to tell him the reason Wade had cheated on her. He'd been drunk the night he'd slipped off with some woman at the club and she knew this piece of information would send Punk into a rage. "We just had a misunderstanding."

He considered her carefully for a moment, knowing that she was holding back. "You know you can talk to me. At least promise me you won't keep holding all this stuff in. It's destructive and it's taking a lot out of you."

"I promise," she said, giving him a small smile.

The locker room door slammed open making them both jump. They turned around to see Wade standing in the doorway. He looked between the two of them, anger brewing behind his green eyes.

"Hey, Wade." Mel stood up and winced as another pain shot down her back.

Wade walked over to her and put his arm around her, supporting her weight. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay."

He looked over at Punk who was still sitting on the bench, glaring up at the larger man.

"Can you give us a minute alone, please?"

Punk turned his hate filled eyes toward Mel. She shot him a look of warning.

"Sure," he said, sliding off the bench. He walked out of the locker room. Pausing in the doorway, he said, "See you later, Mel," and then he was gone.

Wade stared at the empty doorway a moment before turning back to Melody. "What's with that guy? I told you I didn't want you hanging around with him in the first place."

"And I told you he's my friend. I've known the guy for almost ten years. We've always been _just _friends and we're always going to be _just_ friends."

"I don't like the way he's staring at you all the time," Wade said.

"You've got nothing to worry about. _I_ only have eyes for you." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him softly on the lips. He looked down at her and smiled, his eyes crinkling the way she loved.

Suddenly, his expression grew serious.

"Are you sure you're okay? Eve said you blacked out for a moment."

"I got dizzy. I'm just a little overtired I think. I'll be fine."

He pulled her into a hug, wrapping his massive arms around her.

"Let's get you back to the hotel so you can rest."

"Alright. Let me change and I'll meet you at the car."

Once he was gone, she showered and changed clothes. On the way to the car, she felt her cell phone vibrating in her pocket. She flipped it open to see a text from Punk.

_I've got something to tell you._

The text puzzled her. _What is it?_

_ I want to tell you in person. Meet me in the morning?_

She looked at the tiny cell phone screen wondering what it could be that was so important he had to tell her in person. Out in the parking lot, she found the car Wade had waiting and climbed into the passenger's seat.

"Ready to go?" he said.

"Yep. Let's roll."

She flipped the phone open again and keyed in her response. _Sure thing. See you in the morning._

"Who are you texting?" Wade asked looking over at her.

"Just a friend," she said, looking out the window.

As the car rolled into motion she watched the scenery zip by and found herself anxiously awaiting her meeting with Punk in the morning.


	2. Bad News

She woke up early the next morning and slipped out of bed unnoticed, thankful that Wade was such a heavy sleeper. She quietly got dressed and scribbled a note on a piece of paper.

_Gone down for breakfast. Love you! -Mel_

Setting the note on the bedside table, she slipped out of the room. Out in the hallway, she pulled out her phone and dialed Punk's number. It rang twice and then he answered.

"Hey Mel," he said.

"Hey pal. You awake?"

"Never went to sleep. There was some sick shit on TV…kept me up all night."

She chuckled and said, "You're strange."

"Did Papa Bear let you out of his sight?"

"Papa Bear? You really have been up all night haven't you? He's still asleep. I left a note, said I was going to breakfast."

"I can work with that. Meet you downstairs?"

She rode the elevator to the ground floor and stepped out into the lobby. She was surprised to see Punk already waiting on her.

"What the hell? Since when do you teleport?"

"Since always. You don't know me as well as you think you do."

Mel rolled her eyes. "You're such a creep."

"You know you love me," he said, his crooked grin making her smile.

After pouring two cups of coffee, Punk made his way over to the table that Melody had picked. He placed one cup in front of her and immediately began pouring sugar into his own.

"You know, I'd rather you not go into a diabetic coma before you tell me your big secret."

"What secret? Oh, you're talking about the text from last night. It's nothing. I'll tell you later."

"You're killing me, Brooks. Please be serious."

He sat up straight and put on the most ridiculous looking "serious face" she'd ever seen. She tried not to laugh but she couldn't help herself.

"Please, stop making that face," she said through laughter.

Smiling, he resumed stirring his coffee. He couldn't resist making her laugh. It was one of the few things he could count on that always made him happy. It was the whole reason he was delaying telling her the news he knew would upset her. Knowing he shouldn't keep stalling, he took a sip of coffee and set his cup down, carefully turning it round and round, his eyes studying the insignificant cup carefully.

"You remember me going to the doctor last week?"

Her smile faded, her eyes going wide.

"You're not going to need surgery, are you?"

"Relax, it's not that serious. I am going to have to take some time off though. I'll be leaving for home today and won't be back for a few weeks."

She folded her arms, pouting in an endearingly childish way. "You could have told me sooner."

"I didn't get the results back until a couple of days ago. I was going to tell you last night but Frankenstein had to barge in and kick me out."

She frowned at Punk's nickname for Wade and he had to fight to keep a straight face.

"Look, you won't even miss me. I'm sure the Wadey bunch will keep you company. You and Gabriel are practically sisters now. You can braid each other's hair and swap stories about "that time of the month" or whatever it is you girls do."

Mel reached over and punched him on the arm. He grimaced and groaned in pain, overselling it as always.

"So you're leaving today and you're not coming back for—"

"Three to four weeks minimum. The doc says I'll risk worsening the injury and could need surgery if I don't take some time off to recuperate. I'm getting a good deal this way, or so I'm told."

She nodded but said nothing. Studying her face carefully, he noted that she looked sad and tired like she often did lately. He knew without asking what was going through her mind. Since she began dating Wade, she'd become estranged with a lot of her friends. Wade was her world and since they'd been having trouble her world was an unhappy place to live in. Punk knew he was the only close friend she had left. With him leaving for a few weeks, she'd have no one to talk to, to take her mind off of things and to laugh with. He felt sorry for her and wished it didn't have to be that way.

"It's not like I'm dying, Mel. I'll be back before you know it." He leaned in close to her and lowered his voice, his olive eyes staring into hers tenderly. "If you need to talk, you know you can call me. Don't try to hold it all in like you always do."

A small smile broke on her lips. "Why do you have to be so corny about it?"

Sitting back in his chair, he rolled his eyes. He knew she appreciated it but she'd never admit it. She'd never been the sentimental type. It was her way of trying to be tough.

Punk looked up to see Wade in the doorway. His eyes scanned the room and stopped on the two of them, that look of infuriation stirring.

"Oh, look who's here," he said nodding his head in the direction of the doorway.

"There you are," Wade called out as he approached the table, looking at Melody and completely ignoring Punk. He put a hand on her shoulder in a possessive way and bent down in front of her, kissing her on the lips a little longer than was necessary.

"I couldn't find you. I was starting to get worried."

"I'm sorry. I left a note—I didn't want to wake you."

Punk stood up brusquely jarring the table. "Well, I'll be on my way. I've got a flight to catch. I'll see you around, Mel."

He stormed off just as suddenly before Melody could stop him. Wade stared after him, a smile on his face. Seeing this only made her angry; Wade's affections as of late were always for show and his rudeness around her best friend was rather unattractive.

"I'm going upstairs to pack," she said.

"I'll come with you."

She walked to the elevators with Wade still smugly gleaming, wishing he hadn't interrupted her time with her best friend and hoping in vain that the next few weeks would fly by quickly.


	3. Take You Out

_Special thanks to all of those who've favorited this story and a very special thanks to violentkisses20, kellykellyJC, SandraSmit19, alana2awesome, and Straight_Edge_Queen for the reviews. Here comes the third chapter. I hope you enjoy it!_

The next few days flew by in a haze like her off days always did. She said goodbye to Wade Tuesday afternoon as he boarded a plane to Florida where he would spend his off days at home. She on the other hand was due in Connecticut the next morning to discuss her next angle with the writing team. The meeting didn't go off as well as she would have liked; of course Vince was concerned with her on-air mishap a couple of days ago when she'd momentarily gone limp in the ring. She explained it was a clumsy mistake and that it wouldn't happen again. It was then that the creative team decided that after an unsuccessful attempt to regain the title from Eve next Monday she would begin working tag matches with Alicia Fox. Then they added that they were writing an angle in which she would play the role of a valet. She left headquarters feeling disheartened. It was not a good thing to wind up on McMahon's bad side and, judging by the things they had planned for her, that's exactly where she was.

She left the next day for New Jersey where the next house show would be. After doing an interview with a local radio station in the morning, she headed to the arena to prepare for that night's show. She didn't expect to see Wade till much later, but much to her surprise she found him hanging around backstage with Justin and Heath. She walked over to greet them. When Wade caught sight of her he stood up, stretching his arms wide.

"Hello, love." He wrapped her in his muscular arms.

She sighed a breath of relief, glad to be back in his arms after a rough few days. The smell of him and the warmth he exuded always put her at ease, no matter what they were going through.

"I've missed you," he whispered into her hair.

"You're here early," she said, still dazed at the sight of him.

"Aren't you glad to see me?"

"Of course! I just didn't expect to see you so soon."

"I thought I'd show a little early today—give us some time together before the show." He turned to face Heath and Justin who were watching the two of them curiously. "I'll see you two later."

They took the hint and walked away, talking in low voices to one another.

"I wanted to speak to you privately," he said, his voice low and with an unusual sweetness. "Let's go outside, shall we?"

He led her outside to an isolated area behind the building. Taking her hand is his, he kissed her soft ivory skin. Confused by this unusual act of affection, she studied him carefully with her dark eyes.

"What's going on, Wade?"

That devilish grin hinted at the corners of his mouth. "I've been doing a lot of thinking whilst you were gone. I know my actions have been rather deplorable over the past month. The thing is I can't come up with a single excuse for my behavior. I've been dreadful and I don't deserve you standing so faithfully by my side. That's why I wanted to apologize for all the hurt I've caused you. I love you, Mel, and I don't want to lose you."

She stared at him, stunned by his confession. It was like looking at a photograph from the past, full of blissful memories.

"I love you too, Wade."

"Can you forgive me?"

"Yes."

The word left her mouth before she'd even thought it. Wade pulled her into a bear hug, lifting her into the air and spinning her around. Laughing, she struggled against his hold, begging for him to stop. He set her down and kissed her softly, leaving her longing for more.

"I'm going to take you out tonight."

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise. You'll find out soon enough."

He took her hand and she followed him back into the building. She found herself amazed once again at his ability to make her fall in love with him over and over again.

_A/N: Short chapter I know, but there's a whole lot of drama coming in the next one. Stay tuned!_


	4. A New Start

"Wake up, love. We're here."

Wade's fingers caressed the side of her face. Looking out the window, she saw the hotel sign illuminating the night sky. She noticed Justin and Kelly were no longer in the rental car. They must have gone inside already.

She stretched and did her best to wake herself up. It felt like she'd only just fallen asleep but the drive was at least four hours; she must have passed out right away.

Wade's surprise ended up being a nice dinner out, just the two of them. Melody couldn't remember the last time they'd spent the evening together alone. She realized she desperately needed that time with him; it reminded her of just how much she loved him. Though lovely, the date was short. They had to pick up Justin and Kelly and begin the four hour drive to College Station, Pennsylvania, the location of the next show.

Since Wade and Justin were the only two members of the Nexus with Diva girlfriends, the four of them often traveled together. Melody wished Justin had picked someone else to date; the long car rides with Kelly were often awkward since the two of them had little to nothing in common. Luckily, it was late and they were both tired. There were no forced conversations or niceties to uphold.

"What time is it?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"It's a bit past four."

She groaned and laid her head against the car seat.

"Would you like me to carry you?" Wade asked, chuckling.

"Just wake me in the morning," she groaned.

"No chance. You're coming with me."

She was suddenly ripped from the back seat and thrown over his shoulder in one clean movement. Arms flailing and legs kicking, she tried desperately to free herself.

"Okay! Okay! I'm awake! I'll walk!"

He set her down carefully, his trademark grin evident even in the dark.

"I've already got the room sorted. You'll be fast asleep in no time, in a warm bed no less."

Inside the hotel room, the two of them got settled. Wade sat on the edge of the bed watching her undress. Piece by piece, she slowly slipped each article of clothing off until only her underwear was left. She pulled on a black camisole, and let her long hair down while sauntering in his direction. When she was in reach, he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her in close.

He touched his forehead to hers. Their eyes locked in lustful combat.

"Did you enjoy the surprise?" Wade asked softly.

"Mmmhmm," she purred. "But, I think our date was missing something."

She pushed him back against the bed and crawled on top of him, her legs straddling his waist.

"Now I've got a surprise for you."

Bending over, she kissed him with enough intensity to take the breath out of him. When she pulled away, her lips grazed his teasingly leaving him begging for more.

"I thought you were tired," he said with a devious grin.

Her lips curled into a seductive simper.

"Not anymore."

Wade, with a roguish chuckle, rolled her over so that he was on top. She moaned as his hands felt their way all over her body, his lips planting kisses on her skin and sending her through shivers of ecstasy. As she helped him remove his clothes, she looked back on the past and was glad they were moving forward at last.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The next morning she received a call from Punk on her way to the gym.

"Hello?"

"Well, look who finally decided to answer her phone."

Mel smiled, happy to hear her best friend's voice after days of silence.

"Hey, pal! How are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine, I suppose. You know, aside from the fact that my friend has been ignoring every means of contact from me since I left Tuesday."

"What are you talking about?"

"I've been trying to call you since Thursday. I sent a few texts that went unanswered. None of that sound familiar?"

She glanced at the screen on her phone and saw no missed calls or unanswered texts.

"That's odd. Nothing's showing on my phone."

"It's no big deal. I was just calling to apologize for the other day. Then you didn't answer for two days so I thought you'd blacklisted me or something."

"First of all, apologize for what? And second, in what parallel universe would I blacklist you?"

He paused for a beat. "Well, I kind of rushed off the other day—I didn't mean to run out like that."

"You don't have to apologize. I wasn't mad. Well, not at you anyway."

"How are things going between you and Gorilla Grodd?"

She rolled her eyes and smiled. She found it amusing that he was able to come up with a new, offensive nickname for Wade every time he mentioned him.

"Things are going good, actually. He apologized to me a couple of nights ago and promised to make a new start."

There was silence on the other end of the phone. She thought for a moment that the call had been dropped but at last he spoke.

"You sound happy."

"I am. I think things are finally starting to look up for the two of us."

"I'm glad. I don't think I could stand to see you moping around for much longer."

She couldn't help but notice a sense of dejection in his voice.

"Are you okay? You sound glum."

"I'm fine. It's just—just be careful, okay? I've seen you run this cycle with him before—he lets you down, you're miserable for weeks, and then he apologizes and suddenly everything's fine again. I don't want to see him hurt you and if he cheats on you again, I swear, I'll punch his lights out."

She was unsure of how to respond. Though they'd been friends for years, Punk wasn't normally so open with his feelings. He'd always said whatever was on his mind, but when it came to emotions he wasn't so quick to share. Instead, he often put up a front that was disguised by his wicked sense of humor. She worried that in his time off he may have entered a blue period. Whenever his life slowed down he was prone to dwell on things from his past.

"You're always looking out for me, Brooks. That's why I love you so much."

"What else am I good for anyway?"

Trying to bring him out of his mood, she said jokingly, "Good question."

He chuckled before saying, "I gotta go. They just called me back."

"Doctor's office?"

"Yeah."

"Let me know how it goes, though I guess I'll have to call you since my phone is seemingly on the fritz."

"Good idea. I'll talk to you later, Mel."

"Bye Brooksy."

After making it to the gym, she went to the locker room to get dressed. Inside she found Alicia and Maryse talking in the corner. Alicia waved her over.

"Hey, Mel! Running late?"

"Yeah, I overslept."

"Late night?" Maryse asked. There was a strange hostility in her voice and in her eyes. Melody was taken aback by this since she and Maryse had always gotten along in the past.

Alicia broke the awkward silence. "I'm glad we're going to be working together again."

Melody had tagged with Alicia when they were in developmental together. She was glad, at least, that they'd picked somebody familiar to team her up with.

"Oh, yeah. It'll be just like old times."

"We were just leaving," Maryse butted in.

Alicia shot Maryse a strange look before saying, "I'll see you later, Mel."

The two of them walked out of the locker room murmuring to one another. She couldn't pick up what they were saying, but she thought she'd heard Alicia whisper, "…she doesn't know!"

Baffled by the conversations she'd had that day, she tried to clear her mind and focus on the workout that lay ahead of her.


	5. Wasn't What It Seemed

_A/N: Thanks again to all of those who are reviewing and watching this story. Your support means a lot!_

_-x-x-x-x-x-_

Though the weekend house shows passed without incidence, Melody couldn't forget the encounter she'd had with Alicia and Maryse. She'd casually brought it up in conversations with friends but no one seemed to know anything more than she did. She'd even mentioned the encounter to Wade a few times only to receive a series of indifferent responses.

"I wouldn't worry about it, Mel. You know how Maryse is."

"It's strange though. We've never disagreed on anything since we've worked together. There was even a time when I would have considered her a close friend. It doesn't make sense that out of the blue she'd be acting that way."

"I'm sure it's just some stupid rumor, or maybe she's jealous. Either way, you'll drive yourself mad if you keep on worrying over this. Now, are you coming or not?"

Sighing, she said, "I'm coming."

Half of the roster got together and decided to go out after the show that night for drinks. While Mel wasn't in the mood for partying, she'd agreed to go mostly because Wade had begged her to. After getting dressed in the locker room, she met Wade behind the arena.

"Stunning as ever," he said, his green eyes twinkling.

"Alright, slick. Let's go before I change my mind."

When they arrived they found Mike, known as The Miz to the WWE universe, standing outside with Alex and John Morrison. Mike waved them over.

"Wow, I see you talked Melody into coming after all."

"It was no easy task," Wade answered.

Melody shrugged her shoulders. "What good would this party be without me?"

The four of them chuckled.

"I think you two are the last ones. Everyone else is up in the VIP suite. Go on up, we'll be right behind you."

She took Wade's arm and walked close as he guided them through the crowd. A bouncer showed them up the stairs into the VIP room that Mike had rented out for the evening. The music grew ever louder as they entered the lushly decorated lounge. Mel noticed a lot more people there than she expected. It looked like nearly everyone had shown up. Her eyes scanned the room and found that one person in particular was missing: Maryse.

Almost immediately they were approached by Alicia.

"Hey, Mel! Glad you came!" Alicia shouted over the music. "Come on. Let's go get a drink."

Mel glanced doubtfully at Wade.

"Go ahead. I'll come find you later on."

Before she could say anything, she was being dragged across the room with Alicia leading the way.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

After sitting for an hour with her increasingly drunk friends and an overly touchy Zack Ryder, Melody excused herself from the group saying she was going to visit the ladies room. Mainly she wanted to get away. She'd never understood the allure of the party scene and especially the drunken stupid people that came along with it. Aside from that, she wondered where Wade had been for the past hour. She was feeling awfully self-conscious without him by her side.

On the way to the restroom she bumped into Heath Slater.

"Hey, Mel! I didn't know you were here."

"Yeah, I've just been hanging with Alicia and her crowd for the past hour. Have you seen Wade?"

"He was outside with Mar—" He trailed off, biting his tongue.

"Maryse?"

"Well…yeah."

The memories of her encounter with Maryse flashed through her mind, those nasty looks she was giving. Alicia had said something under her breath. "_She doesn't know!"_

"Just the two of them?"

Heath shrugged. "They're just talking, Mel."

"Where are they?"

"I don't think you should…"

"Just tell me where they are!" she shouted.

He sighed and closed his eyes. "They're out on the balcony."

She stormed off in the direction of the balcony without another word. Flinging the door open, she stopped dead in her tracks. The two of them were standing there, lips locked and holding on to each other in an ardent embrace. Wade pulled back at the sound of the banging door. He stared at Melody, the horror in her eyes reflecting in his own.

"Mel…"

"You bastard."

Tears were already welling in her eyes. Not wanting to give Maryse the pleasure of seeing her cry, she turned and ran back into the club.

"Mel, wait!"

She heard Wade calling after her but she didn't stop. He caught up to her and grabbed hold of her arm.

"Don't touch me!" she snapped.

By this point all eyes were on them. Wade carried on, oblivious to the scrutinizing stares.

"It wasn't what it seemed. She—"

"Wasn't what it seemed? You kissed her Wade! And judging by your track record, God knows what else you've done to her."

"Mel…"

"Just leave me alone."

"Please! It was a mistake!"

She stopped in the doorway.

"You've got that right. You go through all the trouble of making me believe you gave a shit. You say you "don't want to lose me" and all the while you're just playing games. I was a fool to believe you'd change. I'm sorry. I can't do this anymore."

She stomped off before he could attempt to say anything more.

Outside the club, she hurried along the sidewalk. She didn't know where she was going—grief was driving her along. She passed the parking lot and was so consumed in her thoughts that she almost didn't realize that someone was calling her name.

"Hey, Melody! Where are you going?"

She looked around and saw Evan Bourne approaching her. Behind him, Daniel Bryan and Gail Kim were standing by a car and staring curiously in her direction.

"Evan…" she said distractedly.

"Are you okay?"

She bit her lip to keep from crying.

"Okay. Why don't you come with us? We've got room for one more."

Evan put his arm around her and walked her back to the car. Though she was deeply embarrassed, she would have rather ridden with Evan, Gail, and Daniel more than anyone else. She'd worked with them all at some point early on in their careers before the WWE. They also knew her well enough not to talk about what had happened that night. The only person that knew her better was currently hundreds of miles away in another state.

She contemplated calling him but she didn't want to talk in front of Evan and the others. They were already talking amongst themselves uncomfortably, trying to keep the mood light in order to avoid her melancholy. However, her mind continued to churn with the hurtful images of Wade together with Maryse outside the club. She needed desperately to talk to her best friend somehow. Deciding a text message would be the least obtrusive method for all parties involved, she began typing.

_Are you awake?_

His response came back seconds later.

_Only mortals sleep._

She considered how to proceed.

_I think it's over._

The following response took a while longer.

_Are you okay?_

_ Not really. I'm riding with Evan, Bry, and Gail to Milwaukee._

Another short pause.

_ Call me when you get there._

She closed her phone and shut her eyes, praying that she would sleep through the five hour car ride that lay ahead of her.


	6. Overcome

They arrived at the hotel around 5:30 that morning. Evan insisted Melody stay in his room. She wanted nothing more than to sink into a pit of despair somewhere on her own but she couldn't turn him down, especially after he'd rescued her from such an embarrassing situation. After fixing the arrangements at the front counter, he walked over to the sitting area where Melody had sunk into a cushy armchair.

"That settles everything. Are you ready to go?"

"Well…I've got a phone call to make. Meet you upstairs?"

He gave her an odd look but didn't ask any questions.

"Sure. Here's your key. If you need anything, you know where to find me."

After he was gone, she slipped off to the coffee shop on the other side of the lobby. Ignoring the closed sign, she walked into the darkened room and sat down at a table. She pulled out her phone and punched in his number, one of the few she had memorized.

The phone rang once, twice.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Phil. It's me."

"Mel…"

"I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No, I never went to sleep."

"You're not having trouble sleeping again, are you?"

"I know what you're trying to do. Don't try to change the subject. Are you going to tell me what happened?"

She took a deep breath and held it in, trying to keep from bursting out sobbing. Releasing the breath, she closed her tear-filled eyes.

Shakily, she said, "I caught him with Maryse."

His voice was angry. "Caught him doing what?"

"They were making out when I walked up on them."

"Then what?"

"I ran away. I was so embarrassed." After he said nothing she continued. "He tried to stop me. He kept saying that it was a mistake. I just told him I couldn't take it anymore and I left."

"You should have beaten both their asses."

"No. I should have just listened to you. I should have known he wouldn't change. I don't know what made me think that this time was different."

"Well, I can't disagree with you on that." When she responded with silence, he asked, "Do you want me to come out there?"

"As nice as that sounds, you really shouldn't. I can't expect you to be my protector each time I run into trouble."

"Why not?" Instead of his usual sly tone, he sounded completely serious.

Taken aback by his response, she said, "I just need some time to myself to think about it. Everything happened so fast I haven't had time to really let it sink in."

"You don't do so well when you let things 'really sink in'."

It was true. When bad news hit she tended to prefer becoming a hermit for a few days rather than face the world. This time, she didn't have that option. Though she would be off starting the next day, she still had a big show ahead of her that night.

"I'll figure something out. I gotta go, alright? Evan let me stay with him tonight and I think he's pretty worried about me. I don't want him to start a search party or anything."

"Will you call me tonight after the show?"

"Sure."

She didn't want to say goodbye. To her, hearing his voice was the greatest comfort.

"Thanks for hearing me out. I don't know what I'd do without you. I mean that."

There was silence for a few seconds.

"Melody, I…" he trailed off. "…take it easy okay?"

His voice sounded strange, like he was holding something back.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'll talk to you tonight. Go get some sleep."

"You too. Goodbye, Phil."

"Bye, Mel."

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Backstage, Melody was waiting for her match. Her brows furrowed in concentration as she taped up her wrists. Though she'd been exhausted, she hadn't managed to go to sleep after getting off the phone with Punk. Other than speaking briefly to Evan before she left the hotel, she'd successfully managed to avoid everyone else by spending the entire morning and early afternoon in the gym. After arriving at the arena, she found she didn't have to try hard to avoid the other Superstars and Divas. Most steered clear of her, obviously uncomfortable about the spectacle they'd witnessed the night before. She spent most of the afternoon hidden away in an unused locker room. She didn't know what she'd do if she saw Wade—or Maryse—and she didn't want to find out. She had to remain composed. Just a few more hours until the show would be over. Only then could the walls come down. Only then could she cave in.

"Hey, Mel. You okay?"

John Cena had walked up at some point and had been standing there watching her tape and re-tape her wrists over and over. She was glad that he was one of the few that hadn't been at the party last night. However, judging by the pitying look on his face, he knew what had happened.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"What are you doing back here?" He looked her over carefully. "You're shaking. Are you sure you feel alright?"

"Never better."

She'd noticed she was a little jittery. She'd chalked it up to not eating lunch that day and perhaps going a little overboard in the gym.

John was looking at her worriedly. "Maybe you should get checked out by the trainers before—"

"John, I'm fine. Honest."

Still skeptical, he said, "Okay. They're ready for you out there."

Eve was already in the ring talking to the audience about her victory. Melody took her place outside the ramp and waited for her cue. As her music kicked in, a stage hand shoved a microphone into her hand. She closed her eyes and tried to resist the nausea that was brewing in the pit of her stomach, and then she took a deep breath and walked out onto the ramp.

"You've got a lot of nerve coming out here running your mouth, Eve, when you know you took that title unfairly. I'm sure you remember me successfully retaining the title in the Fatal Four Way match at Bragging Rights two weeks ago. Heck, I'm sure you even remember me beating you down and pinning you for the win. What you seem to have forgotten is the vicious and unjustified attack I suffered at your hands after _I _won _my_ match fair and square."

The video from their match at Bragging Rights played back on the Titan Tron. Melody breathed in slowly, trying to steady her racing heart. She was feeling dizzy again, the same way she had last week when she'd lost the title. As the video stopped, she took a deep breath and steadied herself.

"Now, due to that undignified assault, I sustained a head injury and I was in no shape last week to perform at the best of my ability. You see, you wouldn't have been able to beat me last week if you hadn't have hit me with that sucker punch. You're simply not good enough, Eve. That's why I want to utilize my right to a rematch tonight."

Eve held the belt over her head.

"You want it? Come and get it!"

Ignoring the growing dizziness, Melody took off running and slid into the ring. The bell rang and their match began. She started off strong with a flurry of punches, knocking Eve down to the mat. She arrogantly gestured to the crowd and received a multitude of boos and jeers. While her back was turned, Eve charged at her. She sidestepped and landed a high kick on the back of Eve's head. As Eve hit the mat again, Melody dusted off her hands and pretended to spit on her downed opponent.

Running on nothing but adrenaline, she charged towards the ropes, setting herself up for her signature springboard moonsault. As she leapt onto the ropes, the dizziness sent her head spinning. She missed the top rope and fell backwards onto the mat, her head slamming down hard.

The crowd was silent. The room was going dark. She could feel herself slipping into oblivion. Though blind, she could sense there were people closing in on her. She tried to get away but she couldn't move any part of her body. Wouldn't anyone save her? Suddenly a voice screamed in her head, a female voice. She recognized it right away. It was Maryse.

"You've lost the one you loved. Your friend isn't even here to save you. What will you do now, Melody?" She ended the sentence and began to laugh cruelly. The piercing cackle was joined by a chorus of laughter that built to a thunderous roar.

Terrified, she tried to scream for help but there was no use. Everything went black and she fell into nothingness.


	7. Visitors

_A/N: Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

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_Beep. Beep. Beep._

The sound of a heart monitor beat steadily like a metronome against the ambience of whirring machinery. Slowly, she opened her eyes. Though the room was dark, she knew exactly where she was. She was in the hospital.

Confused and a bit frightened, she strained her eyes in the dark looking around for something, someone familiar to explain what was going on. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the only window in the room. There was a silhouette of a man blocking out part of the light coming in from the outside. The shadowy figure used one hand to hold onto the wall, bracing himself. His head rest against the glass. For some reason she felt as if she shouldn't disturb this mystery figure, staring out the window in reverie. The other side of her needed desperately to find out who he was. Wade? He didn't look tall enough. She thought to herself who would be there for her in a time of need. When she couldn't think of anyone she let out a heavy sigh. Hearing her lament, the figure spun around. The pale light from the window revealed his face.

"Phil?"

"Mel!" He walked over and wrapped his arms around her, holding on tight. The way he was holding on made her worry. Something really bad must have happened.

"What's going on? Why am I in the hospital?"

He pulled back and looked her in the eyes. Even in the dark his gaze was intense.

"You don't remember anything?"

She tried hard to remember but there was nothing. The last clear memory she had was arriving at the arena. Slowly, she shook her head.

"You had an accident in the ring. You fell and hit your head."

Suddenly it all came back to her. She had a match with Eve. The dizziness was overwhelming. She'd gone for a Lionsault but had faltered on the top rope. She fell backwards, her head slamming against the mat. Then she remembered the weird hallucination she'd had as she was losing consciousness—Maryse's voice reminding her that she'd lost everything. She'd lost Wade.

With a glum sigh, she said, "So I botched one of the moves I've been using successfully for years? And on live TV, no less. Thanks for reminding me."

"You could have died, Mel. You're lucky you didn't break your neck or end up paralyzed!"

His earnestness disarmed her. His expression softened when he realized he'd been a little harsh.

Softly, he asked, "Did you know you were working with a concussion?"

"A concussion?"

Though it was written in as part of the storyline, she had actually hit her head pretty hard at Bragging Rights a few weeks back. The trainers had checked her out and cleared her.

"…No, I didn't. They cleared me after Bragging Rights, said I was fine."

"Well, I guess someone needs firing. The doctor diagnosed you with a concussion after your fall tonight, but he suspects you already had a minor one, which explains the dizziness you've been complaining about."

"You talked to the doctor?"

"Yeah. I told them I was your brother so they let me stay with you," he said, flashing a grin.

Suddenly she realized he shouldn't be there. Punk lived over an hour away in Chicago.

"Wait a second. What are you doing here anyway? Am I still in Milwaukee?"

His grin widened.

"Relax, Mel. I was watching when you bumped your cranium and like a good friend, I was concerned. I called to check on you and they told me they were taking you to the hospital to be evaluated, so I hopped in the car and drove to Milwaukee."

"Phil! That's nearly a two hour drive! You shouldn't have come all the way out here! Your injury! You should be at home resting!"

"It's not that big of a deal. I can still drive. Besides, I was worried about you. I didn't feel like playing phone tag all night to make sure you were okay when I could be here by your side."

He placed his hand on top of hers. For a moment, she got lost in his gaze. She was suddenly overwhelmed by the desire to kiss him. She'd seen him have this effect on about a million other girls in the past, but she'd never felt it herself until now. Embarrassed, she turned away.

"You still shouldn't have come," she mumbled.

Letting go of her hand, he stood up. Playfully, he said, "Well, I guess I'll go then."

"No!" she said, grabbing his hand. Her reaction surprised both of them. She felt her face growing warm again from embarrassment. Matching his playful tone, she said, "I mean, you've come all this way, right? You might as well stay."

Still grinning, he gestured toward the bed and said, "May I?"

She nodded and slid over a bit, allowing room for him to sit.

As he sat beside her, she suddenly realized how much pain she was in. Her sudden movements had awakened an intense headache and her body felt like she'd been run over by a truck a dozen times. She winced in pain and closed her eyes as the headache seemed to be growing stronger with each second that passed.

Concern grew in Punk's eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"Headache…" she grunted.

"Here, allow me."

She felt his fingers massaging her scalp and was surprised at how quickly the pain was subsiding.

"Wow, that's amazing."

"I'm a man of many talents," he said with a smirk.

A swift knock on the door jarred her out of content. The door swung open and she could see two figures illuminated by the light from the hallway. A familiar voice spoke.

"Is it okay to go in?"

An unfamiliar female voice answered, "It's okay. She's got another visitor in there."

The lights adjusted a bit brighter and Evan walked into the room followed by a nurse.

"Mel, you're awake!"

The nurse looked at Punk suspiciously. He shrugged and said, "She just woke up."

"I'll tell the doctor," the nurse said in a flat voice.

Evan greeted Punk and immediately turned back to Melody. "How do you feel?"

"Like I've been run over a few times, but I guess I can't complain."

"You had us all worried! They took you away so fast no one knew what was going on."

She shrugged. "It's just a concussion, you know, nothing serious."

Both men gave her reproaching looks.

"Well, there's a whole bunch of people waiting to see you," Evan said.

Melody frowned. She'd hoped nobody else would show up to see her like this. It was then that she'd realized she hadn't seen Wade yet.

"Is Wade out there?"

Evan and Punk shared a grave expression.

"I didn't see him, Mel."

She sighed, the pain of heartache stirring in her chest again. She thought surely he'd have come if she was injured.

Evan cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Anyway, the nurse said only two visitors can be in here at a time."

Punk stood up. "I'll leave so someone else can come in."

Melody looked alarmed. "Don't go," she said under her breath.

He leaned in close to her and whispered.

"I'll be back. I'm bunking with you tonight, anyway," he said with a wink. Straightening up, he looked at Evan. "Can I talk to you for a second outside?"

Evan nodded and the two of them walked out into the hallway. As Melody was left to wonder what they were talking about, she sighed and prepared herself for her visitors, trying hard to conceal her disappointment that Wade hadn't shown up.


	8. Going Home

_A/N: Sorry for the delay, but chapter eight is finally ready! As always, thanks to all the readers and the lovely people who are reviewing this story. I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!_

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After half the RAW roster showed up to check on her, the nurse finally became irritated enough that she declared visiting hours were over and everyone was forced to leave, everyone except Punk who was still insisting that he was Melody's "brother" and that he wasn't going anywhere. Weary with arguing, the nurse finally allowed him to stay in her room for the night.

Though it was heartening to see so many people had shown up to support her, she was surprised at how desperately tired she'd become and was somewhat thankful that the nurse had ordered them away. She didn't have much time to think about her inexplicably absent boyfriend before she slipped into deep, dreamless sleep.

The following morning she was awoken somewhat early by the sound of her door opening. She looked over to see Punk asleep in the chair beside her bed, his ball cap pulled down over his eyes. Looking back at the door, she saw her doctor, a handsome, middle-aged man who had introduced himself as Dr. Taylor.

Taking note of her sleeping "brother", he approached her quietly.

"How are you feeling?" he asked in a low voice as he shook her hand.

"Aside from the headaches, I'm feeling pretty good."

"That's to be expected. You may also notice some dizziness, some fatigue and your memory might even be a little fuzzy for a while. That's all completely normal." He looked through his charts on the clipboard he was carrying.

"Do you have any questions?"

Immediately she thought about her job. "When will I be able to go back to work?"

"I would give it at least a month before you go back."

Melody's eyes widened. "A month?"  
He hesitated, a sign that bad news was coming. "We believe you've suffered a series of very minor concussions over the past few weeks followed by a pretty serious one last night. Normally, you would have been advised to take a week off after the first head injury, but since it went undiagnosed, the problem continued to get worse. If you were to hit your head again before the concussion completely clears, your brain could swell and you could die. I consider it very lucky that you didn't suffer such a fate last night."

Seeing the troubled look on her face, Dr. Taylor quickly added, "But you're doing fine. You'll need to keep activities to a minimum and get a lot of rest, especially over the next few days."

After the doctor did a quick exam, he asked, "Are you ready to go home?"

Melody's heart sank when she realized that her home was with Wade and Wade was missing. If he hadn't bothered to show up when she'd been hospitalized he probably wouldn't be there for her when she got back.

She forced a smile and said, "I'm ready."

"Well, as far as I'm concerned, you're free to go. I'll put in the discharge papers and get you a prescription to help with the pain and headaches. Just keep yourself out of trouble for the next month, okay?"

As the doctor closed the door behind him, Punk stirred and rubbed his eyes. He sat up in his chair and peered at her through sleepy eyes.

"Good morning, Sis."

"Morning, Bro."

"Was that the doctor?"

She sighed heavily. "Yeah. He says I'm free to go."

"Why so glum?"

"I just realized what I have to go home to."

He considered her carefully. "Why don't you stay with me?"

She shrugged and said, "I can't just go home with you."

"Why not?"

He gazed at her intently waiting for an answer.

"Because, I don't want to inconvenience you."

"You won't be inconveniencing me," he said with a smile. "Actually, I've got nothing going on at all. You'd be doing me a favor if you kept me company for the next couple of weeks."

"You and Colt don't have any man-ventures planned?"

Colt Cabana was Punk's best friend whom he'd known years before he'd met her. They both lived in Chicago and often spent their free time together.

"Colt is sadly out of town until next week. That means YOU are my only friend right now."

She scoffed. "I seriously doubt that."

"C'mon, Mel. Don't make me beg you. Do you really want to go home and sulk?"

She folded her arms across her chest. "Who says I'm going to sit at home and sulk?"

He raised an eyebrow, staring at her knowingly.

"Fine, you win. I'll sulk at your place instead."

"It's settled then. We'll set sail as soon as you're ready."

"It's not that easy," she said. "What about my stuff? I can't live out of one suitcase for the next month."

His eyes widened the same way hers had when she'd heard the doctor deliver the bad news.

Melody laughed a little in spite of herself.

"Yeah, a month. I guess it's a little more serious than your garden variety concussion."

Punk chewed on his bottom lip as he thought. At last he shrugged and said, "We'll figure something out. I don't care if we have to buy you a whole new wardrobe, the bottom line is you're coming with me."

Grinning, she asked, "You sure you won't get tired of me?"

"I'm sure," he said, matching her grin.

Feeling her cheeks growing warm, she said, "I guess I'll go take a shower before the discharge papers show up."

After dragging herself out of bed and walking the short distance to the shower, she was amazed at just how stiff and achy her body was. The hot water helped soothe away some of the pain, but her thoughts soon turned back to Wade. She found it strange that she kept forgetting about him. Perhaps it was the memory loss the doctor had spoken of. Whatever the case, she knew that when Punk was around she didn't think about Wade so much, and the pain he'd left her with wasn't so strong. She was looking forward to spending a couple of weeks with Punk more than she'd let on. At the same time, she wondered what Wade was doing. Despite what he'd done, she still missed him. She knew that by going with Punk she might be making things worse, but when the image of Wade and Maryse kissing on that balcony flashed through her mind it reminded her that she didn't care whether it pissed him off or not.

She reluctantly left the warm shower and dried off. Searching through her suitcase that Evan had graciously dropped off the night before, she picked out some clean clothes and got dressed. As she left the bathroom, she found a nurse in her room looking through some papers with Punk.

"Hello, Miss Wilde. As soon as you sign this release form you are free to go."

Melody signed the paper and thanked the nurse.

"You want me to pick you up out front?" Punk asked.

"Sure. I'll meet you outside."

When Punk left to get the car, Melody began gathering up her things and cramming them into her stuffed suitcase. Once the room was clear of all her stuff, she noticed her phone was missing. Despite doing a thorough search twice over, she couldn't find it anywhere. Irritated, she left the room with her suitcase and headed for the pickup area. Punk was already waiting in the car outside. He hopped out and took her suitcase from her, placing it in the trunk. As they both climbed into the car, Punk realized she looked annoyed.

"What's wrong?"

"I lost my phone somewhere," she said.

"You want to go back and look for it?"

"No, I looked all over the room. It probably got left at the arena or something."

"We could go there if you want."

"Just forget it. I'll call them later and see if anyone found it."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I don't plan on talking to anyone anyway."

"Alright then, mopey. Let's go."

They pulled out onto the highway and set their course for Chicago. Melody tried not to brood over her missing phone and the fact that she wouldn't know whether Wade had called or not. She watched as Punk popped a disc into the CD player.

"I made this CD just for you," he said.

_Never Gonna Give You Up_ by Rick Astley started playing. Melody fought hard but she couldn't keep a straight face. She burst out laughing.

"Why this?"

"C'mon. You know you like this song."

Melody continued to laugh as he began to sing along with the song. Only Punk would make a CD full of bad songs for her just to make her laugh. It was things like this that reminded her how much she loved her friend.


	9. Peace Of Mind

Soon after they arrived in Chicago, Punk headed out to physical therapy and left Melody in his apartment to settle everything. She first made a phone call to WWE headquarters. They connected her to Vince and she filled him in on everything she'd learned from the hospital, including her order to take a month off. He didn't sound particularly pleased with the doctor's orders, but he ended up saying he was glad she was okay and wished her a speedy recovery. Next order of business was her cell phone. She called the arena in Milwaukee but they told her they hadn't found it. Next she called Evan to see if he'd seen it when he'd picked up her luggage but he didn't know anything about it either. Frustrated, she decided she'd had enough of making phone calls and ended her search for the day.

Punk got back not long after she'd gotten off the phone with Evan.

"I'm baaack," he called out as he walked through the door.

"How'd it go?" she asked.

"Rejuvenating. Feels better every time," he said sarcastically. "Did you find your phone?"

"No. The people at the arena haven't seen it and I called Evan but no luck there either."

"That sucks. What about Vince? Did you call him?"

"Yeah. He seemed pretty upset about my one month sentence. He'll probably demote me to Rosa Mendes status when I get back—unless he fires me, that is."

Punk laughed. "I doubt you'll be randomly working out backstage anytime soon, and he's definitely not going to fire you. You do realize you're the top heel right now, if not the top diva."

Melody shrugged as she twisted a piece of hair around her finger. "In this company you can be on top one minute and hit rock bottom the next. Botching moves on live television doesn't help you succeed either."

Punk swatted at her and she ducked out of the way, laughing.

"That's enough self-loathing for one day. I'm starving-you feel up to going out to eat?"

"I'd like to but I'm so sore. You go ahead."

"I'll just pick something up and bring it back. How does pizza sound?"

"You don't have to stay because I'm here. I don't want to cramp your style."

"For the last time, you are not 'cramping my style'". I asked you to come here, remember? Besides, it's better we stay in anyway. I've got activities planned for the evening."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? What kind of activities?"

"I'll tell you when I get back," he said with a smirk.

"What's with you and the element of surprise?"

"It's my superpower. Hold down the fort, I'll be right back.

He returned twenty minutes later with a large pizza and a couple pints of ice cream.

"One for you and one for me," he said, handing her the bag.

She peered inside and said, "I hope I get strawberry."

"Of course. Strawberry's your favorite, right? And your favorite pizza is…"

He opened the box to show her the pizza which was covered in ham and pineapple.

"I'm surprised you remember."

"I remember everything. It's my other superpower."

She smiled. "Thanks."

"I should be thanking you. You're the only other person I know who actually likes ham and pineapple. I usually have to eat it alone."

He walked into his bedroom and laid the pizza box on his bed. Melody watched him as she tried to suppress a smile.

"I'm starting to worry about what kind of activities you have planned," she said.

Grinning, he rolled his eyes and said, "Get in here with that ice cream woman. And bring your filthy mind with you."

Mel set the bag on the bed and sat down beside it.

"I thought you'd be more comfortable lying in bed than bunched up on the couch, because what I had planned was a movie marathon—but I suppose I should ask what you want to do since you're the guest and all."

"Sounds good to me. What are we watching?"

He walked into the living room and brought back a stack of DVD cases.

"You choose the first one," he said as he set them in front of her.

They were all horror movies, most of them classics. Horror movies were one of the interests that they had bonded over when they'd first met. She remembered being impressed with Punk's knowledge and his shared opinion that they rarely made good horror anymore.

Mel picked through the stack and pulled one out.

"This one," she said, tossing him _The Black Cat._

"I thought you might pick that one."

Punk put the movie in and crawled onto the bed beside her. They arranged the food around them and settled back into the pillows as the movie began to play.

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Melody started awake. She was still lying in bed, but the room was completely dark. Next she noticed Punk was no longer beside her. She guessed she must have fallen asleep.

She'd awoken from a terrible nightmare. It was a lot like the hallucination she'd had when she'd hit her head a couple of nights back—cruel mocking voices and laughter and knowing that Wade wasn't around and that he was never going to be around again.

The bedroom door was barely open—a tiny sliver of light from the living room shone through. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was 2:42 AM. Too worked up from the nightmare to go back to sleep, she slid out of the bed and walked towards the faint light.

The living room was lit only by the muted TV. At first she didn't see him, but on a second look she saw Punk lying on the couch, staring at the TV screen blankly.

Careful not to startle him, she walked over slowly. His gaze left the TV and wandered towards her.

"Hey. You okay?"

"I'm fine. Having trouble sleeping?"

He turned his eyes back towards the TV and nodded.

"How long has this been going on?"

"I'm fine, Mel."

She looked at him skeptically. He'd had trouble with insomnia off and on the entire time she'd known him. It had gotten even worse when his last relationship had ended. She had no idea he was still suffering from it.

"You worry me when you get like this."

His eyes drifted back towards her. He stared at her for a moment before he spoke.

"Don't worry. I'm fine, I promise."

He sat up and gestured for her to sit. Obliging, she plopped down beside him.

"I don't remember falling asleep. How long have I been out?"

He smiled. "For a while. You almost made it through the second movie."

"Sorry."

"There's no need to be sorry. You were tired."

"I'm still tired. I feel like I haven't slept at all."

"Why don't you go back to bed?"

She hesitated. "I had a really odd nightmare. I keep having the same one over and over."

"Would it help calm you down if I lay with you?"

She hesitated again, embarrassed and feeling like a little kid.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Come on then."

He stood up and turned the TV off.

"I'll go change first. It sucks sleeping in jeans."

Mel remembered her suitcase. She hadn't packed more than a week's worth of clothes—all of which were dirty now. Punk seemed to read her mind.

"Need some PJs?"

He loaned her a pair of shorts and a t-shirt from his closet. She changed in the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. Both the shorts and the t-shirt were much too big. Unimpressed by her appearance, she turned off the light and rejoined him in the bedroom.

"Don't laugh," she said.

"I'm not. You look great."

She was glad that the room was dark enough that he couldn't see her blush.

They climbed into bed. Melody rolled over on her side so that she was facing him. She could barely see him in the dark, but she could tell he was looking at her too.

"Thanks for…everything. I can't imagine what it would be like if I was home right now. Alone."

"I'm glad you're here, Mel."

She felt his hand on her arm, slipping down till it found her hand where it came to rest. She noticed soon after he'd fallen asleep. Being with him filled her with a sense of peace that she hadn't felt in a long time. The nightmare forgotten, she followed him into sleep.


	10. Surprises

A/N: Sorry for another lengthy delay. This has been a tough chapter to write, but hopefully you all will like it! Thanks to all of you who are reading and reviewing!

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"Where are we going?"

"Just keep your eyes closed. We're almost there."

Punk was holding on to Melody's hand, guiding her along. For days now he'd been building the suspense over another surprise he had in store for her. He'd been saying he was going to take her somewhere but they wouldn't go until she rested for a few days. Since the headaches and the pain had all but vanished, he deemed her ready to venture out of the apartment.

"You know I don't like surprises."

"Yes, you do—you just pretend like you don't. Anyway, we're here. You can open your eyes now!"

Melody opened her eyes and found herself staring at the gates of Navy Pier. A smile spread across her lips when she saw the gigantic Ferris Wheel looming in the distance, colorful lights against the dusky sky.

"It's beautiful," she said in wonder.

"I thought you might like it."

She stood there a moment taking in the sights and sounds of the park. Punk watched her in amusement.

"You ready to go in?"

She looked at him, surprised.

"We're going in?"

Punk laughed. "Yeah. I didn't bring you all the way out here just to look at it."

"Yeah, I know. It's just…"

"You're afraid of heights?"

Melody nodded. Though she'd had a fondness for Ferris Wheel's since she was a child, she'd ridden very few because of her fear. This was by far the most beautiful one she'd seen but it was also one of the biggest.

"Don't worry. I'll keep you safe," he said, squeezing her hand.

She felt butterflies in her stomach as he gazed at her, that look that had weakened the knees of many women over the years she'd known him.

Coming to her senses, she said, "Alright, let's do this before I chicken out."

"Follow me," he said.

They bought tickets and waited in line. After a short wait, they were climbing into a gondola. Melody's heart was racing in her chest.

"Are you going to be alright?" Punk asked her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be fine."

"We don't have to ride—"

"No! I want to! I'm just a little nervous."

"A little? If you squeeze my hand any harder, I think my bones will crunch."

Melody eased up.

"Sorry."

"It's okay," he said with a chuckle. "You sure you want to do this?"

"I'm sure. I think I'll feel better when we—AAGH!"

The gondola jolted and they were quickly rising into the air.

"Am I still alive?" Melody asked as she peeked through her fingers. She realized that she had hid her face against Punk's chest when the wheel had started moving. A little embarrassed, she straightened up.

He chuckled. "I didn't know you were _this_ afraid of heights. You've never freaked out on the plane before."

"I never sit by the window," she said.

As they rose higher, the skyline came into view and she forgot about her fear. It was a beautiful sight—the city lights pale against an orange colored sky, the sun sinking behind the towering skyscrapers. Miniature people looked like stick figures on the pier below them, and the lake waters were golden in the waning sunlight.

"Pretty, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I almost forgot I was one hundred fifty feet in the air."

A chilly breeze picked up, biting straight through Melody's thin jacket. Punk seemed to notice her shivering right away.

"Cold?"

"A little."

He slid an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in close. She felt warmer right away, and somehow it didn't matter anymore that they were suspended high above the earth.

The wheel rotated a couple more times before it stopped suddenly just as they were reaching the very top. The whole city before them, Punk let out a sigh of content, a faint smile on his lips.

"Did I ever tell you how much I love this city?"

"Only about a million times," Melody said with a smile of her own. "Now I can see what you mean, though. I'm finally getting to see it through your eyes. Thanks for showing me."

The wheel began turning again and before she knew it the ride was over. Upon exiting their gondola, Melody noticed a shift in Punk's mood. He suddenly seemed withdrawn and pensive. They walked aimlessly along the pier for a while before she couldn't take it anymore.

"What's wrong?"

"I want to ask you something, and I know it's going to seem out of the blue, but I need to know."

Confused, Melody asked, "What is it?"

"Are you really going to break it off with Wade this time?"

Like he'd warned, the question was unexpected and was a little off-putting.

"I don't know. Under normal circumstances I would have liked for him to explain himself, just to give me a sense of closure, but I didn't get that. I haven't spoken to him since that night at the party. It seems like a no-brainer to everyone else, but I just can't let go without knowing why he's doing all of this—why he would cheat behind my back, get caught, and suddenly disappear without saying another word to me."

"Maybe he's just a coward," Punk said darkly.

Melody shook her head. "It's not like him. I'm not saying he wouldn't cheat, but to just vanish without trying to defend himself? Something's not right."

They walked over to the rails and leaned against them, staring out into the water.

"What would you do if he apologized for everything he did and begged for forgiveness?"

Melody stared at him, not knowing what to say.

He laughed to himself. "I guess it's foolish of me to ask. I swear this is going to be Jimmy Jacobs all over again."

Her breath caught in her throat, both at the mention of her ex-boyfriend and Punk's sudden cruelty in bringing him up. She dated Jimmy Jacobs for almost two years during her time in Ring of Honor, and the relationship was rocky at best. Punk had been there through the whole thing—the lying, the cheating, the drug use. She left Jimmy for good when she moved up to developmental for the WWE, but the relationship had scarred her enough that she didn't date anyone seriously until years later when she met Wade.

"He's not like Jimmy," she said weakly.

"Barrett's not a raging drug addict, but aside from that, the relationship is exactly the same. He fucks up over and over again and you just keep on taking him back while you continue to suffer."

Tears welling in her eyes, and hurt in her wavering voice, she asked, "Why are you doing this?"

He looked at her with a pained expression. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her in close and breathed deeply, calming himself down.

"Because, this little vacation we're having will be over soon and I don't want things to go back to the way they were. I can't sleep at night because I keep remembering how things were with you and Jimmy and it pains me to know that I'm living through it again. You're an emotional wreck all the time and you're making clumsy mistakes—except this time one almost killed you."

He breathed in deeply and steadied himself.

"I've tried to be supportive, the same way I was back then, but I grow angrier every day because I know if it was me I would never treat you the way they have."

She looked into his eyes, but he looked away.

"Why haven't you ever asked me out?"

He shrugged. "It's not like I didn't want to. We've always had this perfect friendship, and I've always been terrified of losing it."

Melody touched his face. He looked at her with great pain and sadness.

"I love you, Mel."

Heart pounding, she pulled him in, connecting in a passionate kiss. He leaned in eagerly, his soft lips—adorned with the lip ring she'd often wondered about—sent a tingling sensation throughout her body. As they parted, he breathed her in and exhaled satisfaction.

"That was even better than I'd imagined," he said with a smile.

The heaviness from the conversation they were having mere minutes ago seemed miles away now.

Smiling shyly, she asked, "Do you want to go?"

"I'm ready if you are," he said.

He put his arm around her waist, holding her close. Overwhelmed by an outcome she'd never expected, she walked along beside him, unable to stop smiling.


	11. Move On

Melody woke up and was happy to find Punk lying beside her sleeping peacefully, his arm still draped across her. Since their trip to Navy Pier a few nights back, she thought things might become awkward between the two of them, but to her delight, nothing had changed at all. He was still her goofy friend, except now they were closer than ever. She was still adjusting to their new relationship, but at the same time it was like it was meant to be—everything seemed so natural between them. She had to ask herself why this hadn't happened sooner. It seemed like there had always been something standing in the way, whether they were in relationships with other people or they were working on different brands. Better late than never, he'd told her.

On the other hand, she felt guilty for starting a relationship with Punk when things were still up in the air with Wade. She couldn't say why—he'd done the same or worse to her. It just wasn't in her nature to be dishonest, and this was the most dishonest thing she could think of.

"What's wrong?"

Punk's voice startled her. He was studying her curiously through sleepy eyes.

"What do you mean? Nothing's wrong."

He sat up and looked her over.

"Something's wrong. What are you worried about?"

His seeming ability to read her mind was a little scary sometimes.

"We never finished the discussion we were having the other night. About Wade."

His face hardened a little.

"You're not having second thoughts are you?"

"No! Of course not! I just feel wrong for cheating on him."

She expected a snarky comment from him on Wade's behavior, but he only stared at her, smiling a little with sincerity in his olive eyes.

"You're too nice. I think you're the only person that would worry about hurt feelings in this situation."

"Maybe so. I've always been the doormat type." She sighed. "The whole situation with him is so fucked up. I just wish I knew what was going on."

His expression grew serious.

"Maybe he's already moved on. You haven't seen or heard from him since the night you caught him cheating. If he really cared, he would have come after you that night. He didn't even visit you in the hospital for fuck's sake."

Melody bit her lip, and looked away. Seeing he'd hurt her, he pulled her into a hug, stroking her long dark hair.

"I didn't want to upset you. I know it sounds like an asshole thing to say, but I wouldn't have said it if I didn't think it was true."

She nodded.

"Deep down I know it's true. It's just so hard to accept."

He pulled her back, looking her in the eyes.

"I know it's hard, but I'm here for you. I'll help you through this, but you have to be willing to move on—otherwise, you'll go on feeling this way."

She smiled, knowing she hadn't made a mistake. He was right, like always—she had to move on and accept that Wade deserved nothing from her, not even a chance to explain himself. Whatever he had to say didn't matter anymore. What mattered was her new, healthy relationship.

Punk looked at the clock on the bedside table and frowned.

"Remind me not to schedule physical therapy in the morning. Too de-motivational."

"At least you only have a few days left. Plus, I'll be waiting for you when you get back. Isn't that enough motivation for you?"

He grinned and planted a soft, lingering kiss on her lips.

"You're right. What do I have to complain about?"

Punk got himself ready and kissed her goodbye. After he was gone, Melody wandered through the apartment listlessly. She hadn't spent this much time in one place since signing with the WWE. Being on the road four to five days out of the week had gotten her used to the lifestyle of sleeping in cars and planes and waking up in a new city every morning. Though she missed living at a slower pace from time to time, having this much time off had only shown her how much she enjoyed working. She'd found herself bored whenever Punk wasn't around. She wasn't looking forward to the two weeks she had left before returning to work, especially since his leave would be over in a few days.

It suddenly occurred to her that she had no idea how things were going to play out once he went back to work. All of her belongings were still in her home in Florida, the place she shared with Wade. She couldn't stay there now after all that had happened. Had Punk meant for her to stay at his place after he went back on the road? Even if he had, she couldn't abandon all of her things forever. All of these complications were making her head ache. She flopped down on the bed, burying her face in the pillow.

She was about to doze off when she heard a knock on the door. Still in her pajamas and not in the mood to greet anyone, she thought heavily about ignoring whoever it might be. A few seconds passed before more knocking sounded through the apartment with more urgency than before. At last, her curiosity outweighed her laziness and she headed for the door.

Standing on her tiptoes, she looked through the peep hole. She stared unbelieving at the distorted image of the man waiting outside, a troubled look on his face. She opened the door half expecting him to disappear like she'd imagined him, yet he was still there.

"Wade?"

He grabbed hold of her immediately, wrapping her in his arms and hugging her tight.

Confused and completely stunned, Melody stood awkwardly in his embrace, unsure of whether she should hug him back or punch his lights out.

"I thought I'd never find you," he said, desperation in his voice. He pulled her back to look at her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. What are you doing here?"

He suddenly looked as confused as she was.

"I've come to take you home."

Melody looked at him incredulously. Was she dreaming or something? Was this some kind of joke? Where were the hidden cameras?

"So you're going to randomly show up one day and take me back after you've been ignoring me for weeks?"

"Ignoring you? Aren't you the one that's been ignoring me?"

She laughed in spite of herself.

"You've got a lot of nerve saying that. I've been wondering where you've been since you dropped off the face of the Earth after that party—you know, the one where you were kissing Maryse. And then when I fell and nearly broke my neck, you didn't even come see me in the hospital. You abandoned me."

His expression grew grim.

"You've got it all wrong, Mel—everything from what happened at that party to this business about me abandoning you. They've been hiding you from me. You have to let me explain."

This was growing more ridiculous by the second.

"What do you mean they've been hiding me from you?"

"Your good friends Evan Bourne and CM Punk. It seems they've been pulling the wool over both our eyes, trying to keep us apart."

"What are you talking about?"

He looked behind her into the apartment.

"Is he in there?"

"No. He went out."

"Please come with me. We'll go sit down somewhere and have a proper talk. I'll explain everything."

Melody hesitated. While she wanted to know what was going on, there was a part of her that wanted nothing to do with him. She looked him over, taking note of that troubled look on his face. He seemed to be genuinely upset, and there had been such desperation in the way he'd hugged her. She supposed it wouldn't hurt to go talk to him somewhere. It was what she'd wanted all this time, after all.

"Alright. Let me get dressed. I'll meet you outside."

As Melody got dressed, she tried to make sense of everything that was swirling in her head. What terrible timing he had turning up now when things were going so well between her and Punk. She glanced at the clock and noted that Punk would be back in about half an hour. Whatever it was Wade had to say, he'd better say it quick. She was afraid of what might happen to him if Punk showed up.


	12. Lies

Melody led Wade a block away to a little cafe that she had grown fond of during her time spent in Chicago. Before she left the apartment, she'd written a note for Punk saying where she'd gone. She knew there'd be trouble if she told him who had shown up, so she left it at that. Still, she was betting he'd come find her, and she would be lying to herself if she said she didn't want him there. She felt like she needed him for support. History had proven that she wasn't the best at telling Wade no when he came to her begging for forgiveness.

She chose a table in the corner while Wade ordered drinks. He came back with a glass of tea and set it in front of her.

"Thanks."

As she sipped the tea, she eyed him curiously. He was still acting odd—he wouldn't take his eyes off her. He seemed so nervous and out of sorts.

"Are you okay?" she asked him.

He smiled, his green eyes twinkling.

"I'm a bit nervous, I suppose."

"What for?"

His face grew serious, his eyes burning into hers earnestly.

"I don't think you understand what I've been through the past couple of weeks. You weren't answering your phone, no one knew where you'd gone—or, at least that's what they led me to believe. I worried myself sick wondering where you were. I felt like I'd lost you for good."

She stared at him incredulously.

"You don't believe me," he said softly, hurt brewing in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Wade. It's just a little hard to believe considering all that's happened. You've cheated on me, you've told me lies, and the ultimate knife in my heart came when I was lying in a hospital bed after suffering an injury that could have killed me and you didn't even so much as call! How am I supposed to believe you've suffered after all of that?"

She wiped away the tears that were forming in her eyes. Wade was looking down at his hands clasped on the table.

"You've got it all wrong, Mel," he said sadly.

"So you keep saying. Please explain to me how I'm wrong."

He looked into her dark eyes that were reflecting the hurt and sorrow in his own.

"I've been unfaithful, it's true. I slept with Maryse that night I'd gone out drinking with some of the others. I realized the next morning what a mistake I'd made. I wanted nothing else to do with her, but she'd gotten some idea in her head that we were a couple. She wouldn't let it go, she kept threatening to drag you into it. I vowed to myself to put an end to it that night at the party. Once you'd gone off with the others, I tracked her down and tried to talk to her, tell her it was over. She was acting crazy, begging me not to go. I tried to leave and she forced a kiss on me. That was when you walked in. I wanted to stop you then and explain everything, but you were so hurt I knew you wouldn't listen. I thought it was best to give you space, but clearly I was wrong."

He paused a moment, sighing heavily.

"I was watching backstage when you fell. You were so still once you hit the mat. I've never been more frightened in my entire life. They brought you backstage on a stretcher and loaded you into an ambulance right away. I jumped in there with you without another thought. You regained consciousness on the way to the hospital. You looked at me and smiled."

He trailed off again, his voice wavering. Melody had never seen him in this state before. He'd never shown this much emotion in the entire time they'd been together. She surprised herself when she reached out and placed her hand on top of his. Her touch calmed him.

"I don't remember you being there," she said softly.

"I imagine you wouldn't. You'd just taken a pretty good knock to the head."

Melody thought back. All she could remember was waking up in the dark hospital room. Punk had been there, not Wade.

"But why weren't you there when I woke up?"

"I stayed with you until they assured me you were stable. Afterwards, I had to rush back to the arena to compete in the main event. By the time I left the arena and returned to the hospital, they said visiting hours were over. I fought with the staff but it was no use, they wouldn't let me in. I stayed overnight in a hotel nearby. By the time I got back to the hospital the next morning, they said you'd checked out early. I asked the staff who you'd gone with but they'd only say you'd left with a family member. I called you several times but it always sent me straight to voicemail. I went through my whole contact list calling all our friends, your family, trying to get someone to tell me where you were but nobody could tell me anything. Days turned into one week, two weeks, and there was still no word from anyone. I was losing hope when Evan Bourne came to me last night after the show and filled me in on the game they'd been playing."

She looked confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe you should ask the orchestrator himself," Wade said, looking past her. She turned around and saw Punk coming in the door. He spotted them right away, his eyes focused on Wade in a hateful glare. He walked over to them, putting a defensive hand on Melody's shoulder.

"What's he doing here, Mel?"

"Oh, I think you know very well why I'm here," Wade growled. "This stunt you're pulling is over."

Punk grinned wickedly.

"It only took you two weeks. I have to give you credit, I thought it'd take you much longer. But I must ask who sold me out, because I know you didn't figure it out on your own."

Wade glared at Punk with hatred.

"It had to be Evan. I should have known the little chump would cave."

Melody looked between the two men. Both were so busy staring each other down that they'd seemingly forgotten she was there.

"What is going on?" she said.

"Ask him how he's been fooling you!" Wade snarled.

"Phil, what's he talking about?"

He looked at her and the hatred melted into shame. She waited for him to say something but he only stood there, unable to speak.

"Have you been missing your phone?" Wade asked. He pulled it out of his coat pocket and handed it to her. "Evan had it. Your friend there told him to keep it. He didn't want me calling you."

Melody glanced back at Punk who had turned his eyes to the floor.

"Apparently, Evan's the only one who knew about this whole thing. He was instructed to tell everyone who asked, myself included, that you'd gone home to stay with your family while you recuperated. Unlike everyone else, I called your family and they had no idea that you'd even been injured. The two of them also fed you lies that I'd never shown up at the hospital."

Melody turned to Punk again.

"Is this true?"

"Yeah, Mel. It's true."

Wade smiled, satisfied with Punk's embarrassment.

"Evan told me all of this last night because he couldn't stand lying to me any more, not once he realized the true reason for orchestrating all of this. You see, your so called friend made Evan think that I was the bad guy, that he was giving you a break from me. The truth is he simply wanted to take advantage of you. He wanted to make you think I didn't love you anymore so he could have you for himself. He's a lying, manipulative waste of skin whose only mission in all of this was to take advantage of you and get you into bed."

Those last few words had barely come out of his mouth when Punk threw the first punch.

"You're a fucking liar!" he screamed as he wailed on the much larger man.

Wade landed a hard blow against Punk's face. Blood began spilling from his nose.

"Stop it, both of you!" Melody screamed.

"What's going on here?"

The manager of the café had come out of the kitchen, looking between the three of them furiously.

"We were just leaving," Melody said apologetically.

She walked out of the café, a little embarrassed and very confused. Both of the men came running after her.

"Mel, wait! Where are you going?" Punk called out.

"I'm going for a walk, and I don't want either of you to follow me," she said.

"What did I do? This is all his fault," Wade said, pointing to Punk.

In a way, he was right. She couldn't accept that Punk had been lying to her this whole time. If Wade was telling the truth, he hadn't deserved anything that had happened to him.

"I need some time to think. Please, just leave me alone."

Punk caught up to her and grabbed her arm, spinning her around to face him. He looked at her with pleading eyes.

"You don't believe him, do you?"

"I don't know what I believe," she said.

She shrugged him off and kept walking, unable to look him in the eyes. What she thought would be a foolproof relationship had just shattered in a matter of minutes. She knew if she couldn't trust Punk, she couldn't trust anyone, and now there was no going back to the way things were.


	13. Good Intentions

A/N: I know the last chapter had mega drama, so this one is going to be a bit calmer. Thanks again to everyone who continues to support this story by reading and reviewing. I hope you enjoy!

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Melody kept walking, not really knowing where she was going. All she knew was that she wanted to leave what had just happened far behind her. The irony of it all was too much to handle. The minute she had begun to feel happy again it was snatched away from her as soon as Wade had shown up. It wasn't like she hadn't enjoyed seeing him—despite all the hurt he'd caused, she'd still missed him. But with the news he'd brought, she almost wished he'd never shown up.

There was no way of telling how truthful Wade had been in his explanation of his actions. It was a good start that he'd freely admitted to sleeping with Maryse, but there were some things that just didn't add up. Still, he'd been so emotional upon seeing her and recounting his story. He did a good job at portraying his character in the ring, but if he'd been acting back there in the café he deserved an academy award.

On the other hand, it was hard to accept that Punk had been lying to her. His burgeoning hatred for Wade had been evident from the time she'd started dating him, but the thing she couldn't understand was why he would try to keep them apart when he knew the way she felt for him. Wade had suggested he was using her. Judging by Punk's reaction, that couldn't have been further from the truth. He'd known her for years—if he'd only wanted to sleep with her, surely he'd have made his move long ago. He hadn't had much of a chance to explain himself. She knew she needed to hear more from him before she allowed herself to become too angry.

There were too many variables to make sense of the situation. She wished she could talk to somebody to help her sort things out. It was then she remembered that her phone had been returned to her. Tired of walking, she wandered into a park and plopped down on a bench. Pulling out her cell phone, she turned it on and was amazed by the number of text and voicemail messages that had piled up over the past couple of weeks. Choosing to ignore them for the time being, she flipped through her contacts and dialed the number she was looking for. There was only one other person who had been involved in this, and she wanted to hear what he had to say for himself.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Evan. It's Melody."

"Mel! How are you feeling?"

"I guess that depends on the way you look at it."

There was a brief pause. "I'm assuming since you're calling me you got your phone back."

"And I'm assuming you know more than you're letting on."

He paused again, obviously trying to find the right thing to say.

"Look, Mel, I really didn't want to get involved in all of this. I thought I was doing you a favor. Had I known what kind of trouble this would lead to I—"

"I'm not holding you responsible for any of this, Evan."

She could sense his relief. "You're not mad at me?"

"No, not at you. Just the other parties involved."

"I understand you being angry, but Punk had good intentions in all of this. He thought it was best for you to move on from Wade, and the only reason I cooperated with him was because I agreed. That night after the party was reason enough."

"Wade claims he's innocent in all of this. He says what happened at that party was a misunderstanding."

"Do you really believe that?" Evan asked dubiously.

Melody was silent.

"I'll take that as a no. I don't want to judge because I don't know a lot about the situation—but Punk does. You've been best friends for what, seven years now? He knows what you've been through and I believed him when he said it needed to end."

"I understand all that…it's just…something _happened_ between me and Punk while I've been gone."

"What do you mean?" he asked warily.

"We kind of started dating…and enjoying the benefits of being in a relationship."

"You slept with him?"

Even though she knew nobody around her could hear him, her face flushed with embarrassment.

"You don't have to say it like that!"

"I'm sorry. It's just unexpected. I kind of always saw you two as a brother and sister."

She chuckled. "You and me both. I guess some feelings emerged that were hidden inside us."

"Well, once you get past the initial shock, I guess it's not so surprising. You two have always understood each other on some insane level that's only heard of in fairytales and chick flicks. Plus, I'm pretty sure he's always loved you in one way or the other."

She hesitated to say what was on her mind.

"You don't think he would have done all this just to get me in bed, do you?"

"Of course not! Why would you even think that?"

"I don't know. Wade tried to make it look like he was using me this whole time."

Evan sighed. "Wade's jealous of Punk. He always has been, and now he has even more reason to be. I can tell you that when Punk pulled me aside in the hospital that day, he was very upset and concerned for you above all else. There's no way he had ulterior motives."

He went quiet for a moment, seeming to drift into thought.

"You know, you haven't spent a lot of time together outside of work since you two were in ROH. People change, and when the conditions are right, they end up seeing each other differently. You didn't see this coming and I bet he didn't either. It just happened."

Melody sighed heavily. "Well, I wish it would have happened at a better time. Now I don't know what I'm going to do."

"Just go with what your heart tells you. They both love you, there's no doubt about that, but you have to think about what's best for you, not what's best for them."

She smiled. Evan was always so full of wisdom.

"Thanks, Evan. You've really helped me out."

"No problem! You know I'm always here if you need someone to talk to."

"I guess I've got to go face the music now. Wish me luck, will you?"

"Good luck. You're going to need it."

She laughed. "Don't rub it in."

"Seriously though, I hope things work out for you."

"Yeah, me too. I'll talk to you later, Evan."

"Bye, Mel."

She knew the decisions she had to make weren't going to be easy. She could sit on that park bench thinking all day and she still wouldn't know the answer to her dilemma. The next step would have to be talking to each one of them individually. Evan told her to listen to her heart, and it was saying that she should go see Punk first. Heeding his advice, she picked herself up and began the walk back to his apartment, feeling nervous and frightened all at once.


	14. Let Down

A/N: Sorry for the delay. My life got busy the past few weeks and I've had no time to write. It's a rather short chapter, but it would have been far too long had I not broken it into two. Anywho, hope you enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think! (Oh, and Punk will be back in the next chapter, I promise! :D)

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Mel walked back to Punk's apartment. She hadn't realized she'd walked so far upon leaving the café; it was taking some time to find her way back. At last, she came upon the familiar block she'd called home for the past two weeks and breathed a winded sigh of relief. That nervous tension stirred in the pit of her stomach again when she saw his building looming in the distance. It was strange since she'd known him for years, but the feeling she had was like the butterflies you get before going on a first date. Her mind started wandering back to the night it all began at Navy Pier, but her daydream was cut short when she heard a familiar voice yelling her name from a distance.

"Hey, Mel!"

She stopped short when she saw Wade sitting on the stairs leading up to Punk's apartment building. Strangely, she found herself annoyed by his presence.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

He stood up, his tall frame towering over her.

"I wanted to speak to you," he said simply.

She looked past him to the building.

"Where's Punk?"

His face fell a little.

"I suspect he's inside."

"Well, can we talk later? I need to ask him about something."

"My flight home leaves in about an hour. I was hoping you'd come with me."

Melody shook her head.

"I can't do that."

"You're going to stay here with him after all he's done to you? Don't you believe me?"

"I'm not saying I don't believe you, but I can't just leave."

"Why not?"

"This is too sudden. You just showed up out of the blue and expected me to jump on a plane with you and head home like nothing's happened?"

"Yeah, I did. You are _my_ girlfriend, after all."

Melody sighed. This was not going at all like she'd planned.

"Things have changed, Wade. Even if I forgive you, I can't ignore what's happened between me and Punk."

His expression grew grave.

"You've slept with him then?"

Unable to look him in the eye, she stared at the ground and nodded. She heard him sigh heavily. She waited for the screaming to commence but was surprised when she felt his arms around her.

"Whatever may have happened since you've been here I can't hold against you."

She looked up into his sorrowful green eyes.

"You're not angry?"

"I'm not angry with _you_. I know you wouldn't have done any of this had you not been misled. It hurts more than anything, but I know I deserve it. Had I been honest with you all along, none of this would have happened." He put a hand on her cheek, caressing her skin gently with his fingers. "I love you, Mel, and nothing can change that."

Her heart beat heavily in her chest. She placed her hand on top of his, relishing the warmth he gave off. She wished she could stay in this moment and forget about the letdown she was about to give.

"I love you too, Wade—but I still need time."

She could tell he was trying not to let his disappointment show.

"I understand." He cleared his throat. "Are you going to talk to…_him_?"

"Yeah."

He cleared his throat again like he was fighting to get his words out.

"Well, I have to get going or I'll miss my flight. I trust you'll call me?"

"Yeah, sure," she said.

There was an awkward pause. Melody knew he was trying to keep himself together. He didn't take defeat well. She put her arms around him and hugged him tightly. She felt the tension leave his body, and his long, muscular arms wrapped around her longingly.

"Have a safe trip home," she said. She pulled back, looking at him. There was still a degree of sorrow in his eyes.

"Can I kiss you goodbye?" he asked sadly.

She knew she should say no to him, but the pain in his eyes was too much.

"Of course," she said softly.

He leaned in, kissing her gently. The longing she'd felt in his embrace was reading on his lips. As he pulled away, she felt herself yearning for more. He smiled wistfully.

"I'll see you later," he said.

As he turned to walk away, she fought with herself not to run after him. She watched until he disappeared around the street corner, and then she walked up the steps into Punk's building, angry with herself for kissing him.


	15. Price To Pay

A/N: Sorry again for the huge delay. I've got a drama packed chapter for you though to make up for it! Hope you enjoy, and as always, thanks to my faithful readers!

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Melody found the door was unlocked when she reached Punk's apartment. She shut the door quietly behind her, not wanting to break the unnatural silence. Punk was nowhere in sight.

"Phil?"

Her voice echoed through the darkened and empty apartment.

"I'm in here."

She followed his voice into the bathroom where he was sitting on the edge of the tub, a bloody rag held over his nose.

"Are you ok?" she asked as she sat down beside him.

"Oh, you know…just another broken nose. It's no big deal."

"Would you like some ice?"

He threw the rag into the sink and said, "No, the bleeding has stopped, I think."

"I'm sorry he did that to you."

He shrugged. "Don't worry about it."

There was silence between them. After a while, Punk spoke.

"So, where did you go?"

"I took a walk, ended up at some park several blocks away and I sat there a while. I called Evan."

"What did you talk about?"

Melody hesitated, unsure of what to say.

"Well…I just wanted to hear his side of the story."

"What did he have to say?"

She hesitated again. Since they'd begun this conversation, Punk had been speaking in an eerie calm. It was making her nervous, like she was under review for a crime she'd committed.

"He said I was overthinking things."

He nodded, a humorless smile on his face.

"So you believed Barrett then?"

Melody sighed.

"I just don't understand why you had to lie to me. I trusted you. I've always trusted you."

His expression hardened.

"It was the only way I had a chance."

"A chance at what?" she asked warily.

"Getting you away from him."

Melody stared at him, a gamut of emotions raging inside of her.

"What if I didn't want to 'get away from him'?"

"You see, Mel, that's the problem. He fucked another woman behind your back, making you miserable and distracted to the point of nearly killing yourself in the ring, and even that wasn't enough to drive you away from him."

She blinked back tears, astounded by his cruelty.

"And you were completely innocent in all of this?"

"What do you mean?"

"You only wanted to give me a break from my horrible boyfriend or was there something more behind your plan?"

Punk sighed and looked away.

"I would be lying if I said I didn't want you for myself, but it's not as selfish as it sounds. I want what's best for you and I wouldn't treat you the way _he_ has. I love you, Melody. I always have."

He was speaking in defeat. All cruelty and anger had faded into sadness. She wanted to wrap her arms around him, tell him she loved him too and let that be the end of it, but she knew she was letting herself get caught up in the moment again like she had with Wade.

"Where do we go from here?"

He looked at her, a little surprise in his expression.

"What do you mean?"

"Things are obviously going to change between you and I, but can we still be friends?"

The wonder on his face turned into fear.

"You sound like you're giving up on me."

"I'm not giving up on you—I just think things should go back to the way they were."

Punk shook his head. His eyes were pleading.

"Please tell me you're not going back to him."

"I don't really have a choice. I can't just tell him, 'Hey! Sorry, but while I was kidnapped, I found somebody else and I'm going to go with him now.'"

"You don't have to be with me, but you don't have to be with him either. He lied to you too, and worse, he cheated."

"And he apologized. It was a mistake—it's not going to happen again."

Punk burst out laughing but not from amusement. His eyes were wide with disbelief and he looked like he was going mad.

"So this really was for nothing. I knew you'd find out about my lie sooner or later but I never thought you'd be stupid enough to go back to him."

Everything about him from his words to his furious eyes burned with cruelty. Her chest filled up with pain and she began to cry. She got up and stomped out of the bathroom, pausing at the door.

"I may be stupid enough to take Wade back, but at least I didn't wait years to admit to someone that I love them when it was too late."

He winced like she'd punched him in the gut. She could see some of the fury melt away and his eyes started to glisten. He turned away as he wiped at his eyes.

"I should go," she said through tears. She went to the bedroom and began stuffing her things into her suitcase. It wasn't long before Punk followed her. He stood in the doorway watching her.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going home," she said simply.

"Don't leave. You don't have any clue how you'll get home."

"I'll figure it out when I get to the airport."

"What if there aren't any flights to Florida?"

"Then I'll drive home."

"Are you that disgusted with me?"

She looked at him. His eyes were still glistening with tears, though he'd done his best to hide them. Once again she felt herself getting lost in the desire to stay with him, but she knew she couldn't. She had to do what was fair, even if it meant leaving him behind.

"I have to go," she said. She picked up her things and pushed past him, heading for the front door.

"At least say goodbye," he called after her.

She stopped in her tracks and had to muster up the strength to turn around and look him in the eye. Dropping her bag, she walked over to him and stood before him. He brushed the hair out of her eyes and smiled wistfully.

"I know I'm a fool for not asking you out years ago, and I guess this is the price I have to pay. Things may not have turned out like I'd hoped, but I don't regret this. The time I spent with you was worth it."

She breathed in slowly and closed her eyes as he put his arms around her. It took everything she had not to break down crying again. He could feel the tension in her body as she tried to hold herself together.

"What's wrong?" he whispered in her ear.

She pulled away from his embrace. Her voice breaking, she said, "I love you, Phil—but I have to go."

She turned away and collected her bag. Before she could change her mind, she walked out the door of his apartment, determined not to look back.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

A/N: Don't give up, Punk supporters. You haven't seen the last of him. ;)


	16. Time Will Tell

A/N: Another long delay between chapters. Sorry folks! This one was particularly hard to write—I had to finalize some decisions I'd been putting off for far too long. Anywho, hope you all like it! As always, critiques/comments are always appreciated, and thanks to all who read this story.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Melody flung the door open and dropped her suitcase. After three hours waiting for a flight out of Chicago and an hour layover in Atlanta, she'd finally made it home. It was after one in the morning and the house was dark. Wade was presumably asleep upstairs. Tired and emotionally drained, she debated over whether or not she should wake him. Deciding she had no other choice, she plodded up the stairs to the bedroom.

She found him sleeping soundly in their bed. He looked so peaceful that she had second thoughts about waking him. At last, she slid gently onto the bed and put her hand on his shoulder. He did not startle. His eyes drifted open and met hers in the dark.

"Mel? What are you doing here?" he asked sitting up in surprise.

"I live here don't I?" she said. She'd meant to sound playful but her weariness made her sound agitated.

"Of course you live here. I didn't expect you'd be back so soon."

"I told Phil I was coming home and that was that."

She could see the skepticism in his expression, even in the dark. However, he didn't say another word about it. He put his arms out and pulled her into a hug.

"I'm glad you're home."

"Me too," she said feebly.

"Do you want me to help you get settled in?"

"No, I'm exhausted. I'm going to change clothes and come to bed."

"Alright," he said. He was staring at her like he couldn't believe she was really there.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

It was late in the morning when she woke. She got out of bed and wandered downstairs, following the aroma of breakfast that was floating up from the kitchen.

She found Wade setting out plates. There was a stack of pancakes in the center of the table. He didn't notice her standing there at first. When at last he looked up, she smiled.

"Good morning," she said.

"Morning. How are you feeling?"

"Still a bit tired, but I'll live."

He walked over to her and put his arms around her, planting a kiss on top of her head.

"It looks like you've been busy this morning," she said, looking at the carefully set table.

He shrugged and smiled.

"I thought I'd make you breakfast. Are you hungry?"

Her stomach growled on cue.

"I'll take that as yes," he said with a laugh.

They sat at the table and dug into the food. Melody stared at her plate, vaguely aware that Wade was watching her keenly. A lot of thoughts were surging in her head, and at that moment they mostly concerned the strange feeling she'd had since she'd arrived home early that morning. She'd expected things to be awkward after coming back, but things were beyond awkward and downright alien. It didn't feel like home anymore. Wade seemed like a stranger. She knew it was too early to be making these judgments—she'd only arrived hours ago—but she was finding it hard to rake up the desire to weather this uneasy transition back to her old life. She looked up to find him still quietly watching her every move.

"Is something the matter?" he asked softly.

She hesitated, not wanting to lie but knowing it would be difficult to express the truth.

"It's just strange being back."

He looked at her curiously, suspicion in his eyes.

"What's strange about it?"

She shrugged. "It feels like I've been dreaming for two weeks about another life, and suddenly I wake up and things are back to normal—but it wasn't a dream at all…it was real."

It was Wade's turn to stare at his plate. His jaw was clenched tight.

"Was it a better life?" he said softly.

Melody stared at him quizzically, sensing his change in mood. She didn't like where this was going.

"I have to ask why you came back in the first place," he vexed.

"Because I love you," she said matter-of-factly.

"But you love him too, right?"

Melody stared him down, fighting off the emotions that were building up inside her.

"I don't want to talk about this right now."

"Then when will we talk about it? I need to know you won't board the next plane to Chicago the minute we get into an argument."

Melody stood from the table, nearly knocking her chair over.

"For your information, I left Chicago yesterday evening because I believed that you could change. I sacrificed a cherished friendship in the hopes that this ridiculous relationship would work itself out, and I'm having real trouble coping with that. If you had a shred of sensitivity within yourself, you would realize that right now, but you're too busy thinking about yourself."

She stormed out of the kitchen, and jogged up the stairs, slamming the bedroom door behind her.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

It was a while before Wade tentatively entered the bedroom. He found her sitting on the bed, hugging her knees. She glanced at him briefly before she went on staring into nothing. Wade sat on the bed beside her. He took a deep breath before he began to speak.

"I want to apologize, Mel. I didn't mean to upset you on your first day back. In fact, I was trying to make things more comfortable for you. I suppose that's why I was so bothered when you claimed you were quite the opposite."

He paused, considering his words.

"I knew if you came back to me it would take time for both of us to adjust, but there's still so much I don't understand about what went on when you were away from me, and that's what I'm having trouble dealing with. I'll make things right between us no matter how difficult it might seem. All I ask is that you don't lose faith in me."

Melody sighed. He always knew the right thing to say.

"I haven't lost faith in you or I wouldn't be here. I'm sorry I lost my temper. I didn't mean everything I said."

He put his arms around her, a sign that he accepted her apology. She knew this was only the beginning of a long road that lay ahead of them. They were struggling before and it would only be more difficult now. Wade had faith in himself when he told her he'd make things right, but she couldn't yet say the same of herself. Only time would tell. She closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of his embrace and trying not to contemplate whether or not she'd made the right decision.


	17. Changes

When Monday morning came along, it was time for Wade to rejoin the RAW tour. He asked if she wanted to come along—the arena was only an hour away—but she decided against it. She wasn't mentally prepared to see Punk who she knew was returning to work that night—McMahon had arranged for him to do commentary while his hip continued to heal. Furthermore, she wasn't ready to face all the people she hadn't seen since the injury, namely Maryse. She still had to decide what to do about her. Somehow she couldn't see their issues ending with a polite conversation.

Despite this procrastination, she wouldn't be able to hide forever. Her recommended month of recovery was nearly at an end and she would be returning to work soon. She was heading to headquarters the next morning to meet with Vince and the creative staff to discuss her comeback. Supposedly they had come up with an interesting angle and they wanted to discuss it with her personally.

A car horn honked from outside. She looked out the window to see Heath Slater's car parked by the curb. Because Heath lived nearby, they often travelled together to shows within the state.

"I'd best be going." Wade lingered in the door way, looking back at her with concern in his green eyes. "I'll miss you while I'm gone," he said somewhat sadly.

She put her arms around him, resting her head against his chest.

"Of course, I'll miss you too, but it'll be Friday before you know it, and I'll be waiting here for you."

A contented smile graced his lips. He gave her a long kiss goodbye that ended only when more urgent honking came from Heath's car.

"I'll call you when I get there," he said softly, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear.

"Have fun. I'll be watching."

She looked from the window at the car on the street below. Wade waved to her before climbing inside. She watched as the car pulled out and disappeared around the corner.

Sighing, she collapsed onto the couch. The house was silent. It was virtually the first time she'd been alone since coming home.

She'd been thankful for Wade's constant companionship over the past week. It helped her get her mind off the fact that she hadn't heard a word from Punk since she'd left Chicago. Perhaps it was for the best that they didn't speak to each other, but it didn't change the fact that she missed her friend. She hoped dearly that he wasn't angry with her, although she knew he must be. How else could he feel when she'd practically given him up for someone else? The reality of her situation setting in again, she stood from the couch and headed upstairs to the bedroom to pack. She would have to keep herself busy while Wade was gone or she would find herself mired in depression in no time.

She took her time packing her bag for her morning trip to headquarters, did some cleaning around the house and ordered take out Chinese. Upon returning home, she realized RAW had already started. Though she had mixed feelings about watching the show, she told Wade she would. Not wanting to break her promise, she flipped on the TV and settled herself on the couch.

Wade was already in the ring with the whole Nexus in tow. He was speaking about his loss against John Cena at Survivor Series and Cena's subsequent firing. Melody watched with amusement as he demanded a rematch against Randy Orton. She thoroughly enjoyed watching him from this perspective. She never got to view the show as a fan and though she'd kept up with the storylines during her absence, it was much different watching things unfold from home. Michael Cole stood up to read a message from the anonymous RAW GM stating that Wade would get his match that night. Wade grinned as he said he'd allow John Cena to appear that night and say his goodbyes.

There was a short commercial break and then the RAW music began to play. The camera panned over the crowd before settling on Michael Cole who had stood from his position at the announcer's table. Melody felt her stomach knot up. She knew what was coming.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, at this time I would like to introduce to you the newest member of the RAW broadcast team."

The familiar screeching guitar kicked in. Punk appeared on the ramp, casually dressed and all smiles. He made his way to the announcer's table and took his seat beside Jerry Lawler. Cole and Lawler looked surprised.

"Hello," he said as he put on his headset. "I'll be joining you as an announcer for the foreseeable future."

He looked happy. A wistful smile grew on her lips, but the initial joy of seeing him quickly faded and was replaced by stinging sadness. If she couldn't even handle seeing him on TV how in the world would she handle seeing him in person when she went back to work? She turned off the TV. After staring at the blank screen for some time, she turned off the lights and went to bed.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

She caught a plane ride to Connecticut before the sun came up and was in the WWE headquarters building promptly at 9:00 AM. Vince and David, the head writer for RAW, were waiting for her when she got there.

"Good morning, Melody. Have a seat," Vince said, gesturing to a chair in front of his desk. She'd been to his office several times before and was equally impressed each time. The walls were painted a rich green and the sizeable room was filled with expensive furniture. Her eyes wandered to the shelves packed with memorabilia from the company's long, industrious history.

"How's your head?"

Melody smirked. She was sure her boss had some concern for her well-being but it was clear he wanted to get straight to business.

"Perfectly fine," she answered.

"Good, good. Well, Melody, I've brought you here to discuss an idea we've been throwing around for a while now. The diva's division is growing dull—there's not a lot of variety to work with. We need something new to liven things up. Let me just jump straight to the point. We want to add a female to Nexus and we think you're the best person for that role."

Melody stared in disbelief.

"Nexus?"

"Yes. We think putting a female in such a sinister role will be unexpected and it will hopefully draw more attention to the diva's division."

It was certainly unexpected. She knew whatever they were planning must be big since Vince had scheduled to meet her personally, but she hadn't expected this at all. She also realized that if she was given this role, she would have an opportunity to work together with Wade, something they hadn't done before.

"I think it's a great idea," she said with a smile.

"So you're interested?"

"Definitely."

"Good. There's just one thing we need to discuss, and what I'm going to say to you must not leave this building."

She nodded in agreement.

"There's going to be a change in the Nexus lineup very soon. We're replacing Barrett as the leader of Nexus with CM Punk."

Melody's breath caught in her throat.

"We're moving Barrett to Smackdown."

She was sure her heart had stopped beating.

"Smackdown?" she said after a moment's silence.

"We know of your relationship with Barrett so that's why I'm telling you this now. The Smackdown roster could use some bigger players and Barrett will be perfect in helping rejuvenate a card that's gone dull."

She was still so shocked that she couldn't form words.

"Is there something wrong?" Vince asked looking genuinely concerned.

"No. Nothing's wrong. I didn't expect…"

"Yes, we're hoping these changes will have the same effect on our viewers," Vince said proudly. "Anyway, we're glad you're coming back and we know you're going to be perfect for the Nexus angle. David here will fill you in on all the details."

**A/N: I debated a long time over whether or not to pursue the Nexus idea for this story (I feel like it's been used a lot in the fanfic world) but in the end I knew it was too perfect to pass on. I'm going to try to keep it as original as possible. As always, feedback is appreciated!**


	18. Trust

Still shaken by the unexpected storyline that had been thrown at her by the creative team, Melody spent the next few days worrying over how she was going to tell Wade. Though he'd spoken to her on the phone a few times since she'd received the news, she hadn't worked up the courage to tell him yet. She was almost certain he'd be angry once he found out who she would be working with soon—in his absence, no less. However, the thing that troubled her the most was _how _Punk would be replacing Wade on RAW. After she left Vince's office, the head writer had discussed with her in detail about where the storyline was going. They intended to use her as a sort of double agent; she was to pretend she was working for Wade but all the while she would subtly slip hints to the others that they needed new leadership—and that new leader would be none other than CM Punk. She had been ordered to betray her real-life boyfriend on live television.

On the other hand, she would be working very closely for the foreseeable future with her best friend who she hadn't heard a word out of since she'd unceremoniously left him behind in Chicago nearly two weeks ago. "Friend" was a dubious title after all that had happened. She sincerely hoped he didn't hate her since she'd returned to Wade after he'd plead with her not to. The best she could hope for is that he would at least speak to her again.

Despite all this, the role was an important one, and Vince had asked her to fill it himself. There was no way she could have turned it down. The unfortunate thing was that the drama that had recently unfolded between herself and the two men in her life would no doubt continue. The creative team, as well as McMahon, of course knew nothing about what was going on between the three of them, but the timing couldn't have been worse. Needless to say, there was going to be a lot of tension over the next few months, and she feared her already rocky relationship was headed for more trouble.

Her concentration was broken when she heard the door opening in the kitchen. He was home. The time for procrastination was at an end. She took a deep breath and walked over to meet him.

"Hello, lovely," he said with a smile.

She stood on tiptoes and gave him a peck on the lips.

"Is that all I get?" he asked playfully.

He looked her over carefully, and noticed she seemed upset.

"Is something the matter?"

She shrugged.

"It's nothing serious."

"Something must be troubling you. You've seemed bothered since I talked to you on the phone this past Tuesday."

"Well…has the creative team talked to you this week?"

"No. Why?"

She considered her words carefully before she spoke.

"As you know, they called me in to a meeting Tuesday. I was surprised to find Vince waiting for me. He told me that he wanted to do something new in the diva's division, and he asked me to become the first female member of Nexus."

Wade raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"And you said yes?"

She nodded.

He took the news in for a moment.

"Well, that's a good thing, isn't it? We'll be working together."

"That's not all he told me."

He looked at her expectantly.

"Well?"

"He wants to move you over to Smackdown in December to "rejuvenate the card". They want Punk to take your place as leader of Nexus."

His expression darkened. She could see a range of emotions swirling around inside of him. He stood there for what seemed an eternity before he finally spoke.

"Why didn't you tell me straight away?"

"I wanted to, but I was worried you'd be angry. I've worried myself sick all week."

He considered her in silence for a while longer, then he did something that surprised her. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his warm embrace.

"You shouldn't worry yourself the way you do."

She looked up at him in surprise.

"You're not angry?"

"Well, I'm not exactly thrilled but it can't be helped, can it? Orders are orders."

He pulled her back so he could look her in the eyes.

"Our trust in one another has been harmed over the past months, but the way I see it, this is the perfect opportunity to let it grow again. It's time for us to make a fresh start on some things and here's our chance. This may be the very thing we needed."

"You really think so?"

"I really do."

He looked lovingly into her deep brown eyes and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"You know something?" he said softly. "I've just come home to my beautiful girlfriend and I think I'd like to take her out to dinner tonight."

"That sounds lovely," she said with a smile. "Where will you take her?"

"Anywhere she wants so long as she wears that blue dress I'm rather fond of."

"That blue dress is somewhat revealing, isn't it?"

"I, for one, don't mind," he said, flashing his devilish grin.

"Very well. Just for you."

Thoroughly pleased with the way things had gone, Melody headed upstairs with Wade not far behind.

_A/N: Don't be discouraged, Punk fans. He'll be back in the next chapter, I promise! Oh, and sorry this was somewhat short. It would have been a HUGE chapter if I hadn't separated this part. Next chapter coming soon! And as always, thanks to all my readers!_


	19. Reunion

The time for Melody to return to work had finally arrived. She was in the car on the way to the arena and found she had mixed emotions about the night to come. She was more than ready to get back to work; the extensive time she'd had off was nice at first but after a couple of weeks she missed being on the road. On the other hand, she had a lot of apprehension about seeing certain people, Punk especially. After two weeks of neither seeing nor hearing from him, it would be strange seeing him in person again. Then there was Maryse, whom Melody hadn't seen since she'd caught her kissing Wade. She'd decided long ago it would be best to avoid contact with her if at all possible; if Maryse tried to start something with her she couldn't be held responsible for the beating that might proceed.

The driver pulled into a back alley and parked the car near the backstage area.

_Here we go._

She shouldered her bag and thanked the driver before climbing out. As the car pulled away, she felt extremely self-conscious. She wished Wade was with her to act as her buffer and she kicked herself for not going with him when he'd left earlier. Swallowing down her fears, she passed security and headed backstage.

She had barely made it inside before Evan appeared out of nowhere with a big grin on his face.

"Melody! You're back!"

"I'm back," she said with a smile. As she hugged him, she felt her anxiety slipping away. Apart from Wade, he was the absolute best person she could have bumped into.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Perfectly fine. If it were up to me, I would have come back weeks ago."

"Well, sometimes even someone as stubborn as you has to listen to what the doctor says."

She rolled her eyes playfully.

"Have you seen Wade around?"

"Yeah, I passed him just before I ran into you. I think he was headed for the locker room."

"Okay. Well, I'd better go see him before the show starts."

"You want me to walk with you?"

"Sure."

They set out for the locker room with Evan leading the way and talked a little about what had gone on at work during her absence. She found it odd that Evan made no mention of Punk or the scheme that he'd assisted in setting up. She wanted desperately to ask about him, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. There had to be a reason why Evan was avoiding talking about it and she didn't want to push him into it, especially since it had turned out to be an awkward situation for all parties involved.

As they approached the locker room, Evan knocked three times on the door.

"Come in." It was Wade's voice.

Evan pushed open the door and stood aside. When Melody caught sight of the room, she gasped in surprise. The majority of the roster was standing in the cramped locker room. A makeshift banner had been hung overhead that read _Welcome back, Melody!_

The crowd of superstars and divas yelled out, "Surprise!"

Melody, embarrassed but smiling, shuffled into the room and stood by Wade who was at the front of the crowd. Laughing, and smiling, he gave her a hug. She looked back at Evan who was wearing a sheepish smile. He shrugged and mouthed, "Sorry".

"You guys know I hate this kind of thing," she said playfully to the crowd. She paused as everyone laughed. "Thank you, though. This means a lot."

Melody was then surrounded as her coworkers welcomed her back one by one. She smilingly greeted all the people she'd missed over the past month. This went on for some time before the director came in and yelled at them to start getting ready for the show. As everyone filed out of the room wishing her good luck on her first night back, Melody realized something that made her heart sink. One person had been conspicuous by his absence: CM Punk.

"You look unhappy," Wade said.

She looked up and realized that they were the only two people left in the room. Melody smiled, and gave him a hug.

"No, not unhappy. Just a little overwhelmed, I guess."

"It will take some time to get back into the swing of things."

"Yeah," she said.

"Well, you'd better get dressed. You've got quite an entrance to make tonight," he said with a smile.

"I'll see you in the ring, boss."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Melody waited inside the curtain, watching the monitor as Wade and John Cena fought. She looked herself over; they'd dressed her in black from head to stiletto heeled toe. She looked like you'd expect an evil villainess to look. The writers intended to explain her absence by saying she'd gone off the deep end after being conked on the head a month ago.

She was given her cue and she took a deep breath as she pushed through the curtain and began her walk down the ramp. The audience immediately took notice of her casual stroll toward the ring and excited chattering broke out all over the arena. She came to a stop a few feet from the ring and stared up at the two men with her arms folded, a smirk on her lips.

By this point, Cena had become distracted and was looking her way in bewilderment. It was then that Wade made his move and executed the Wasteland. He pinned Cena, the ref counted to three and the match was over. The crowd broke out in deafening boos. Wade had gotten up and was looking down at her, the same curiosity on his face that Cena had. Melody slid into the ring. They stood there a moment eyeing each other before Melody walked over to Wade and lifted his arm in victory. The crowd broke out in boos again, louder than ever, as the two of them looked at each other grinning. Melody dropped his arm, they exchanged a knowing look, and then she made her exit.

On her way out of the ring, she glanced over at the announcer's table. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw him sitting there. He was looking at her, an empty smile on his face. That sinking feeling in her chest again, she continued her walk up the ramp.

**A/N: Just a hint of Punk, but confrontations are to follow in the next chapter. ;) Many thanks to the readers. I seem to get more watches/favorites with each chapter I write, which makes me a happy lady. Keep 'em coming! :D**


	20. Rumors

Melody hadn't been back a full week before she noticed that the warm reception she'd received at her little surprise party was long gone. Slowly she began to see the hostility that was building amongst the other divas, and it all seemed to be directed towards her. Even more alarming was the whispering and the sideways glances she got from everybody else. She suspected jealousy was the reason the other divas were giving her the cold shoulder; after all, she'd been asked to play a big part in the main storyline by Vince himself after just coming off the injured list. Petty rivalries sprung up all the time in these situations and she knew the less attention she gave it the quicker it would die away. However, there was really no reason for her male costars to be talking behind her back. It could mean only one thing—someone had told her secret and it seemed to be spreading fast.

She made her way to the catering area and grabbed a sandwich from the table. Her eyes searched the room. She started to leave when she saw Maryse at a table with Mike and Alicia but was relieved to find Evan and Gail, one of the few divas who hadn't turned on her yet, sitting at a table across the room.

"Care if I join you?" she asked as she approached them.

"Hey, Mel! Have a seat," Evan said, pulling out the chair on the other side of him.

Melody sat down and peered around the room. Maryse had taken notice of her now and was giving her a death glare. She pushed herself ridiculously close to Mike and laughed loudly at something he said.

"What are you looking at?" Evan asked, breaking her concentration.

"What's that all about?" she asked, gesturing to Maryse in the corner.

"Oh, you haven't heard? I thought everybody had," Evan said as he rolled his eyes. "Mike and Maryse are a couple now. Isn't that lovely?"

"Poor Mike," Melody said. She observed them further and noticed that the two of them, along with Alicia, were now glancing her way and whispering amongst themselves.

"I get Maryse, but why are the other two shooting me dirty looks."

"I wouldn't worry about it, Mel," Gail said. "The bitch squad over there has been running their mouths nonstop since you've been back. They're just jealous of you."

Melody raised an eyebrow.

"What have they been saying?"

Gail and Evan exchanged a glance.

"It's nothing anyone believes," Evan said defensively.

She felt anxiety building up inside of her. It had to be bad or they would just tell her.

"What are they saying?" she repeated.

They exchanged another worried glance.

"They're trying to spread the rumor that you came up with your part in the Nexus storyline and that you slept with McMahon so that he would use it. The other rumor is that since Punk is about to take over Nexus, you slept with him so he would recommend you for the part."

Rage boiled inside her. She was no longer in control of her body—her anger was forcing her to stand up, to walk across the room straight over to the table where Maryse was sitting. Maryse lost that obnoxious, conceited expression as Melody drew back and slapped her straight across her face. The damage had already been done by the time Evan had run over and pulled Melody back. Maryse still sat in her chair, holding her cheek in shock as Mike tended to her broken pride.

"Melody, what are you doing?" Evan asked in alarm.

She shrugged him off and made for an exit. Her heart, pumping with adrenaline, stopped cold when she saw Punk standing by the doorway, watching her with a curious expression. Tears began to well in her eyes as she walked past him and out into the hallway.

"Mel."

She heard his voice calling after her softly.

She stopped and turned around. He was following her at a distance.

"Will you let me talk to you?"

She stood there as he closed the space between them. He looked her over with concern, a certain sadness in his olive eyes.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he wiped a tear from her cheek.

"Hey! What the bloody hell is going on?"

Wade's voice boomed down the hallway as he came barreling towards them. He unceremoniously shoved Punk aside and took his place in front of Melody, gripping her by the shoulders.

"I heard the commotion down the hall, and when I come to see what's happened, they tell me you attacked Maryse. What's gotten into you, Mel?"

"You might want to ease up. Clearly, she's upset," Punk said in a low but firm voice.

"You'd best mind your own business and clear off," Wade snapped back.

Punk was about to walk away when Melody finally spoke.

"No. I want to talk to him."

Wade stared at her in disbelief.

"You're choosing him over me?"

"Don't be a child," she said calmly.

"I'm not being a child, I'm being completely rational. I don't want the both of you sneaking off somewhere to talk. We've all seen where that leads to."

The rage was boiling inside of her again.

"For your information, your fucking whore is spreading rumors about me to everyone who'll listen, and some of those rumors concern him. You trust me, you don't trust me, either way I'm going to talk to him."

Wade stepped back and looked at her, astounded. She'd never talked to him that way before. He shot a look at Punk who was trying and failing at hiding his amusement. At last, he scoffed and stormed off.

Melody sighed and closed her eyes, trying to regain the last shreds of composure she had. When she opened her eyes, Punk was still rooted to the same spot, watching her curiously.

"I'm sorry…he interrupted—"

"It's okay. Let's find someplace a little more private. We're starting to attract attention," he said nodding his head to the doorway behind them. People were coming in and out of the catering room, watching them carefully.

"Lead the way."

Punk walked alongside her. She was glad, if only briefly, that he was with her again.


	21. Phoenix Rising

They found an empty conference room and slipped inside. Melody chose a seat at the end of the table and sank down into the cushy chair. Punk lingered by the door. He folded his arms and leaned against the wall surveying her casually.

"What's going on, Mel? What happened back there was, for you, really out of character."

She bit at her lips, suddenly embarrassed that he'd seen her act that way.

"I feel like I'm at my breaking point. I've got all this shit already going on, and then I find out that these unspeakable rumors are being spread about me, and you, and one of the people that is spreading these rumors just happens to be the person I caught trying to steal my boyfriend. So I reached my limit. I snapped—and I walked right up to her and slapped her in the face."

He grinned. "Well, I thought that was really fucking cool."

Melody fought off a smile.

"Phil, this is serious."

"You're right," he said. He looked at her earnestly and asked, "What are they saying about us?"

"One rumor is that I…_slept_ with McMahon in order to push through this female Nexus thing that _I_ supposedly came up with."

He raised his eyebrows.

"I know, right? Sounds ridiculous, but apparently people are believing it because every time I turn around I see them whispering to each other and giving me dirty looks."

He seemed to think for a moment before he asked slowly, "What else are they saying?"

She pursed her lips, embarrassed about what she was going to say.

"They're saying that I slept with you in order to get the Nexus part. Apparently they think you had some say so in the matter since you're about to take over."

Wryly, he said, "Well, they got half of it right, at least."

Her face fell and he could see that she was far from amused. He pushed off from the wall and walked over to the table, choosing the chair right beside her. Her eyes met his as he studied her keenly.

"Why are you letting this bother you so much, Mel?"

She shook her head and took a deep breath.

"I've worked too hard to make it in this company for somebody to start spreading ridiculous rumors, trying to tarnish my reputation—and it's all because some bitch is holding a grudge against me for something that's not even my fault."

He put his hand on top of hers.

"You _have_ worked hard, and everybody knows that. Anyone with a brain will realize these rumors are just that—rumors. I don't think anybody _really _thinks you slept with McMahon, and I think everybody knows I have as little input in the creative process as everybody else. Neither rumor makes sense—only a complete idiot would believe any of it."

"We did sleep together," she said softly.

He looked down at the table, but not before she could see the pain in his eyes.

"Yeah, we did."

He chewed on his lip for a moment before he continued.

"They would have found out sooner or later, I'm sure of that. As much gossip goes around you'd think we were in high school again. What I want to know is who started these rumors in the first place."

Melody shrugged.

"There's no doubt in my mind that Maryse started the one about McMahon. It's so stupid, only she could have come up with it. As for the other one...it says to me that someone told her about us and she just changed it to suit her. She couldn't have found out about us on her own—there has to be someone who told her, and as far as I know, there were only three people other than myself who knew about it: Wade, Evan, and you."

"Who do you think it is?"

She considered the question carefully.

"My gut feeling is that it had to be Evan. He had the least to lose by telling the secret. I'm not saying he's spreading rumors out of meanness, but you know how Evan is. He's too trusting. He could have told anybody thinking they genuinely cared and it spread from there."

Punk nodded, a pensive look on his face. He seemed to be struggling with what to say.

"What are you thinking?" she asked.

He looked at her carefully. Weighing his words, he said, "I think Barrett did it."

"Why do you think that?" she asked skeptically.

"I know you're going to brush it off because you haven't listened to me so far, but I think he's still seeing Maryse on the side. I think he must have told her what happened between us and she, being the cow she is, saw an opportunity to spread lies. She wants to hurt you because she hasn't succeeded in taking him away from you completely."

Melody thought about what he was saying. It made complete sense aside from the fact that Wade had been trying so hard lately to win her back. She couldn't understand why he would go to all that trouble if he had another woman on the side.

"He's been trying hard to make things right since I've been back," she said softly.

Punk leaned in, his expression grave.

"He _would_ do that because he wants to create a false sense of security. He doesn't want to give you any reason to believe that he's still seeing her."

She stared at him unblinking as suspicion started to creep into her mind.

"I'm not saying you should run straight to him and start accusing him of cheating on you again…I'm just saying you should keep your eyes open. Be aware that it's a possibility."

He stood up and started for the door. Melody snapped back to reality as she realized he was really leaving.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"The show is starting soon. They'll lose their shit if I'm late."

She felt a frantic urge to stop him from going. She didn't want him to leave her again.

"I've missed you, Phil," she said weakly.

A melancholy smile crossed his lips.

"I've missed you too."

"Do you want to meet up after the show? Maybe talk some more over dinner?"

His smiled turned into a frown.

"I can't. I'm going out with Beth after the show."

She raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Beth?"

"We started seeing each other about a week ago."

Melody felt an icy knife stick into her stomach.

"Oh," she said weakly.

"Maybe some other time," Punk said.

She nodded blankly. She was barely aware when he said goodbye and left the room. A hollow feeling was expanding inside her chest and spreading throughout her body, making her numb. She shouldn't feel this way—after all, she'd really hurt him when she'd chosen Wade a few weeks back and left him alone with his hopes that they'd end up together. Finding out he was seeing someone new just weeks after all that drama was disheartening. On top of that, Punk's theory about the rumors made too much sense. She was now worried, once again, that she'd made a bad decision in taking back Wade.


	22. Security

Melody sat across from David, Michael, Justin and Heath in a locker room backstage.

"…I guess what I'm really asking is how you all feel about the leadership in the Nexus."

David spoke up.

"Obviously we have issues."

"Wade's making one bad decision after another," Heath added.

Melody nodded, a hint of a smile on her lips.

"Then you all agree that a _new_ leader would be welcome in the Nexus?"

They looked among each other hesitantly.

"If Nexus is to survive, then it's time to move on. I think you'll find the change you're looking for if you consider…"

"What's going on in here?"

Wade entered the room, his green eyes flashing with suspicion.

Melody stood as the others did the same.

"Just talking," Melody said with an unctuous smile. "Congratulations on the Slammy," she added as she walked away.

Wade stared down each of the four Nexus members as they followed Melody one by one.

"Okay, we got it. Thanks everyone," the director said as the camera crew shuttled off their equipment.

Melody had settled on the side of the room, her arms folded as she watched everyone but Wade file out the door. Once everyone was gone, he approached her slowly.

"You're far too good at being evil, you know," he said with a smirk.

"I'm no better than you," she quipped.

He moved in close, his hands tracing over her body.

"Have I told you how delicious you look in that Nexus gear?"

She shivered as his lips grazed her neck and Punk's words echoed through her head.

_He wants to create a false sense of security. He doesn't want to give you any reason to believe that he's still seeing her._

Melody put up her hands, pushing him back.

"You shouldn't…"

Wade looked at her, hurt.

"I shouldn't admire my beautiful girlfriend?"

She searched for the right words to say. Of course she couldn't tell him the real reason she'd been distant over the past week. Still, there was more to it than Punk's suspicions about Wade's continued affair with Maryse. She still couldn't shake off the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach when she thought about Punk dating someone else. She couldn't believe it hurt so much to find he'd already moved on.

"You haven't been yourself lately. I'm starting to worry," he said.

Melody looked into his eyes.

"You wouldn't lie to me, would you?"

He looked at her, taken aback.

"Why do you ask that?"

Suddenly, his eyes darkened. A frown tugged at his lips.

"Is it something _he _said to you?"

Melody looked away, confirming his suspicion.

"You shouldn't talk to him, Mel. He's playing you, trying to sabotage our relationship out of jealousy."

He tilted her chin up so that she was facing him once again.

"It would be foolish of me to ask you never to speak to him again. I know it's unrealistic if not impossible considering you're going to be working alongside him in this new Nexus angle. However, I don't think you should associate with him more than you have to. He's only hurt you ever since this whole thing started. He may have been your friend once, but he's not anymore."

She sighed heavily, the pain from Punk's betrayal flaring up on cue.

"He said he was dating Beth. He started dating her little more than a week after I left Chicago."

Wade scoffed angrily.

"Need I say more? He's a loser, Mel. You hurt him and now he's out to hurt you."

He pulled her into his embrace, her head resting against his chest. He rubbed her back as he said, "You and I are all that matter. We've made mistakes and we're suffering the consequences, but as long as we stick together, nothing anyone says or does can tear us apart."

She looked up at him and smiled. In the beginning of their relationship long before any of these hardships began, he had a way of wrapping her up in his arms and making her feel secure, no matter what was going on. She was happy to find this feeling had returned.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

After the show, Wade had to stay behind to work out some issues concerning the TLC pay per view that was to come Sunday. She said goodbye to Wade and then caught up with Evan and Gail outside the arena.

"Ready to go?" Evan asked.

"Ready," she said as she tossed her bag into the open trunk.

"We were thinking we'd stop and eat," Evan said.

"That's fine with me."

They drove until they found an all-night diner just outside the city. As they took their seats inside, they found that several others had chosen this spot as well. Melody's heart sank. Across the room, Punk and Beth sat at a table, talking and laughing happily.

Evan and Gail noticed the frown on Melody's face and turned to see what she was looking at.

"Are you okay, Mel?"

"I'm fine. I just didn't expect to see _them_ here."

"They're _together_?" Evan asked in surprise.

"That's what he told me. Supposedly it started a couple of weeks ago."

"I had no idea," he said.

"You didn't know?"

Evan and Gail looked at each other. Both shook their heads.

"Punk's been sort of…distant since he's been back," Evan said.

"He's been keeping to himself—he doesn't really talk to anyone," Gail added.

"He's been talking to Beth," Melody said gloomily.

She glanced over at them. Punk's eyes met hers. He smirked and waved at her. Melody forced a smile and waved back. She turned her eyes to the table, that sick feeling in her stomach once again.

"It's kind of soon, isn't it?" Evan asked. "What's he thinking?"

"I guess he's free to do what he wants. We weren't dating or anything."

"But the things he said to me…it doesn't make sense."

"What are you talking about?" Melody asked curiously.

Hesitantly, Evan said, "Well, he basically swore that he was in love with you and that he wouldn't give up until he had you."

"I guess he got me," she said darkly.

Evan shook his head.

"It wasn't like that." He hesitated. "He'd kill me if he knew I was telling you this, but he was majorly distraught when you left. I called to check on him the day you left and he wasn't himself. He had me worried the way he was talking."

Melody suddenly felt sad. She'd regretted leaving him that day and this new information didn't make her feel any better about what she'd done.

"He deserves to be happy. If this is what he wants, then that's fine with me," she said sadly.

After some time, Melody watched as Punk and Beth left together arm in arm. It wasn't long after that the three of them finished their meals and prepared to hit the road. While Evan and Gail were still paying, Melody slipped outside into the crisp winter air. She stretched, preparing to sit in a car for several hours. As she looked around, she noticed the street was mostly deserted. Across the way, a parked car was idling. Melody watched curiously as a couple—a tall man with dark hair, and a pretty blonde—exited a restaurant and made for the car. There was no mistaking who they were.

She vaguely noticed Evan and Gail had walked up beside her. They were watching the couple now as well.

"Is that Wade and Maryse?" Gail asked.

"Yeah it is," Melody answered dully.

This time, there was no sadness at the sight of them together. There was only anger.

"Who's the loser now?" Melody whispered to herself.

A/N: Thanks, as always, to the readers and reviewers. I got quite a few reviews on the last chapter which made me very happy! Things are getting pretty crazy in this here story. Another chapter will follow soon!


	23. The Plan

**A/N: Thanks readers! I got a great response out of the last chapter. This one's a bit different, but hopefully you all will like it! Let me know what you think. :D**

Melody walked through the hotel parking lot. It was 2:30 in the morning, it was raining, and it was freezing cold but none of this mattered right now. She ducked under an awning and pulled out her cell phone, dialing a number she seldom called any more.

After three short rings, he picked up.

"Hello?"

"Mike, its Melody. Do you have time to talk?"

He hesitated. There was a lot of talking going on in the background.

"Y-yeah. Hold on a second."

She heard Mike's muffled voice excuse himself from his company and then it went quiet.

"What's up, Melody?"

"Is Maryse around?"

"…No. She went with some friends tonight."

Melody grinned.

"Did she say who she was going with?"

"Some of the other girls. What's this about?"

"You may want to keep a closer eye on her. Unless she refers to Wade as "some of the other girls" I think she may be lying to you."

There was silence on the other end of the line.

"What are you talking about?"

"I saw them getting into a car. They were leaving some restaurant outside of Biloxi."

Another hesitation.

"Don't you think you might be jumping to conclusions, Mel? This could be entirely innocent."

"Believe what you want. I've had enough of getting burned. I thought I'd warn you before you end up the same way."

He was silent again as he thought about what she'd said to him. At last he said, "Thanks, Mel. I'll…keep this in mind." Then he said, "Why are you doing this?"

"Because I like you, Mike."

"Even after…those rumors. I may have helped spread them."

"Forget about it. It's all in the past now. Give me a call if you need to talk."

Melody tucked the phone into her jacket pocket and looked out into the driving rain. The wheels were in motion now—there was no turning back. She hoped Mike had taken her seriously. He would play an integral part in the success of her plan.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Melody carried out the rest of the week as if nothing had changed. She'd ordered Evan and Gail not to say a word to anybody about what they'd witnessed Monday night. Wade remained clueless to the fact that she'd seen him with Maryse the night he was supposed to be "staying late for work". It was exactly the way she wanted it.

She waited backstage as the TLC pay per view was coming to an end. She watched the monitor as John Cena pulled down a display of chairs and they fell with a sickening crash, a heap of scrap metal on top of the table that Wade lay under. Under normal circumstances she would be worried. Tonight, she felt nothing.

Wade came limping backstage several minutes later.

"Are you okay?" she asked, putting on her best pout.

"Never better," he said with a smile.

"I'm going to get changed," she said, patting his back gently.

"Go ahead to the hotel, if you want. I've got some business to take care of around here—I might be a while."

_Business, huh?_

"Okay," she said, forcing a smile.

She was in a car on the way back to the hotel when she got a text from Mike.

_Are you busy tonight?_

She sent her response.

_Nope. What's up?_

Her phone began to ring seconds later.

"You want to get dinner or something? I'd like to talk to you in person about…"

"Sure. Where do you want to meet?"

"You pick."

Twenty minutes later Melody was sitting across from Mike at a table in a hole-in-the-wall a few blocks from the hotel.

"So what brings us here?"

Mike bit at his lip.

"I guess Wade had other plans tonight?"

"Business to take care of," Melody said in a bad British accent.

Mike smiled.

"Maryse too. Funny, isn't it?"

"Hysterical."

"What do you think we should do?"

"Well, I've thought about this for several days now and I'm still leaning towards the most embarrassing and ego bruising thing possible."

Mike smirked and said, "You can be pretty brutal, you know. However, I find myself intrigued. Go on."

"I suppose you're going to the Christmas party tomorrow night?"

"I had planned on it."

"I'm thinking about dumping Wade during the party."

"Really? Isn't that a little harsh? It's so close to Christmas."

"What's harsh is him swearing to me over and over that he "loves me and I'm all that matters" while he goes behind my back and screws another woman. Nothing I can do could hurt him more than he's already hurt me."

Mike nodded understandingly.

"Fair enough. Where do I come in?"

"That's up to you, really. If I were you, I'd drop her. I don't think Wade becoming a single man is going to change her mind about sleeping with him, and even if it does, are you going to be able to trust her again?"

He looked at her carefully, considering what she'd said. Across the room, the door opened, drawing Melody's attention. Punk and Beth walked in. Melody scowled and sunk lower into her seat.

"Out of all the places in this city. It's like they're following me."

Mike glanced over his shoulder at Punk and Beth. He turned back to Melody, his blue eyes softening.

"They're dating, huh?"

"Why is this news to everyone? I see them everywhere I go."

Mike leaned in a little closer.

"You mind if I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"What really happened between you and Punk in Chicago?"

Melody sighed. She felt her anger binge tearing away into sadness.

"It's okay. You don't have to—"

"No, it's okay. Get comfy, it's a long story."

She started from the beginning, from the night she was admitted to the hospital in Milwaukee. She told about how Wade had been a no show, how Punk had been there for her and how he insisted she come stay with him. She told about the week she'd spent in Chicago with Punk, about them realizing their feelings for one another. She told him about the ruse Punk had come up with and how Wade had come back into the picture and the fallout afterwards. She told him how much she missed Punk now and how the discovery that he was already dating someone else had torn her up inside. And then she'd found out that it was all for nothing, that Wade had been unfaithful yet again. She told him how she'd lost everything.

When her story was finished, Mike was lost for words. He gazed at her through sympathetic eyes.

"You've been through a lot, huh?"

She shrugged apathetically.

"What can you do?" she said with a rueful smile.

Mike ran a hand through his hair, fidgeting nervously.

"Look, I'm sorry, Mel, for any pain I might have caused you. Those stupid rumors…I was just—"

"You were just taking your girlfriend's side. I understand," she said.

Her eyes darted across the room. She noticed Punk was staring at them suspiciously.

"He's watching us," Melody said absent mindedly.

"Maybe you're making him jealous. You are out to dinner with me, after all."

Melody chuckled.

"Seriously!" he said, "We dated once before, we could try it again. You'll be single, I'll be single. It's an awesome idea!"

"That was the single worst date I've ever been on," she said with a smile.

Mike laughed. "Yeah, it was pretty bad. I think you intimidated me a little bit back then."

They laughed some more, musing over their bad dating experience. As the conversation carried on, she'd all but forgotten that Punk was in the same room with them, neither did she notice when he'd left.

After leaving the diner, Mike walked Melody back to the hotel.

"Thanks for dinner, and the distraction. I really needed this."

"I've had fun. We should hang out more often."

"I guess I'll be pretty open starting tomorrow night."

Mike hesitated a moment.

"About tomorrow night. I want to be there for you if things go bad."

"What about Maryse?"

"I think I'll pass. I'm not big into sloppy seconds, and I wasn't that into the relationship anyway. I mostly thought she was hot."

She smirked and said, "I didn't know you cared about anything other than looks anyway."

"That's not fair," he said with a laugh.

"I appreciate it, Mike, but I can take care of myself. You can do something for me though."

"What is it?"

"Just don't mention anything to Maryse about this. She'll go running to Wade and I want this to be a surprise."

"Sure. Anything."

Inside the hotel, they lingered by the elevator.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Melody said.

"Take care, Mel."

The doors rolled open and out walked Maryse. She glared between the two of them. As the doors closed, she could hear her bursting into an angry interrogation.

_Poor, Mike._

Laughing to herself, she took the elevator up to her floor. As she walked to her room, she hummed a happy tune. She felt surprisingly relieved knowing that this was her last night with Wade.

**A/N: Punk fans, don't give up. Things are changing, but he's not going away yet! ;)**


	24. Promise

**A/N: Sorry for the delay. I've got a pretty long chapter for you though, so hopefully that will make up for it. Emotions are running high in this one. I hope you all enjoy and as always, I appreciate all the feedback I get! Thanks!**

Melody looked at herself in the mirror as she put the finishing touches on her hair. She'd never been a narcissist, but even she had to admit she looked amazing. She'd even bought a new dress for the occasion, a sexy black little number that fit her like a glove. She wanted to make sure Wade would regret messing things up between them when she walked away that night.

The party was taking place in the hotel inside a ballroom a few floors down. A bunch of the other Nexus guys had shown up at their room half an hour ago ready to head down. Melody had urged Wade to go ahead without her. It was by design that she should arrive alone and hopefully attract as much attention as possible on the way in. It wouldn't be as satisfying if there wasn't an audience around when she rejected Wade from her life.

She was almost ready to go when there was a knock at the door. Sighing to herself, she went to answer it expecting Wade had come back to check on her. As she pulled the door open, she found not Wade but Beth standing in the hallway. She felt fury brewing inside her, and she had to remind herself that Beth hadn't actually said or done anything to deserve this hatred. It was Punk who had betrayed her, not Beth. She swallowed down her anger and forced a smile.

"Beth. What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice sounding strained.

"We need to talk. May I come in?"

Melody hesitated, thrown off by a question she hadn't expected.

"Yeah. Come on in."

Beth walked past her. She gazed around the room as if she expected to see Wade, but said nothing of his absence. She stood awkwardly, rooted to the same spot. Melody noticed Beth was dressed up pretty nicely herself. She tried not to think of who she was dressing up for.

"So what's going on?"

"Well…I'm afraid I've got a confession to make."

"A confession?"

"About Phil. He and I aren't really dating."

A flood of emotions hit Melody so fast she felt her head spin.

"Not dating?" she managed.

"No. It's been for show this whole time."

"Why?"

She sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"He wanted to make you jealous. I told him it was a bad idea, and I never wanted to go along with it, but he seemed so lost and brokenhearted…I couldn't say no. We've kept it up over the past couple of weeks but I can't go on lying anymore."

Still dazed, Melody shook her head.

"He told you about what happened between us?"

Beth nodded slowly.

"When I found out he was dating so soon after…"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I hope you're not too angry with me."

"No, I'm not angry at all. It's just…I didn't expect this."

"Well, I'm relieved you're not angry," she said with a smile, but the smile quickly drained away. "But that's not the only reason I'm here. I wanted to ask if you'd go talk to him."

Melody folded her arms.

"Are you sure he wants to talk? It seems he's gone out of his way to keep his distance."

"He's hurting bad, Mel. This whole situation has broken him down in a way I've never seen him before. I'm really worried about him."

A sorrowful feeling sank into her chest. Of course it hurt her to know he was feeling this way, but she'd been hurt too. What if talking to him only made things worse? She couldn't stand anymore heartbreak. Then she remembered she was supposed to be on her way to deal with Wade. Now her grand scheme seemed so insignificant. Tonight was supposed to be a time for letting go. Maybe it was time to settle things with Punk as well.

"Is he going to the party?"

"He's on the roof right now. I tried to get him to come but he refused. He said he wanted to be left alone."

"You're sure he won't be angry if I go up there?"

"I'm certain you're the only person he wants to see right now."

Beth stood and walked across the room to the door. She turned around and asked, "Do you want me to tell Wade where you are?"

"Don't tell him a thing," Melody said.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

She emerged on the rooftop and wrapped her arms tight around her body, trying to shield herself from the blistering cold. Her eyes swept the area—she could not see him anywhere. She'd almost decided he'd gone somewhere else when she spotted a figure sitting cross-legged, leaning against a wall a few feet away.

She walked slowly in his direction until she stood before him. His eyes drifted up and met hers. Even in the dark she could tell they were reddened from lack of sleep. Melody sighed and sat down beside him.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked, his voice so soft it was nearly carried off by the wind.

"Admiring the weather?"

"Beth sent you out here, didn't she?"

"Of course not," Melody said unconvincingly.

"So the jig is up, huh?" he said with an empty smile. A moment of silence passed between them. "Shouldn't you be with _Wade_? Or is it _Mike_ now," he said, spitting out their names.

"Mike?" Melody asked indignantly.

"I saw you two together last night," he said.

Melody became rigid.

"Actually, Mike and I were talking about how our significant others are seeing each other behind our backs. You were right. Wade has been seeing Maryse again."

Punk shrugged. "I wish I could say I'm sorry but I warned you."

Melody tried to ignore the venom in his voice.

"I know you warned me over and over again, and I didn't listen to you. I accept that all the pain I've suffered through staying with him is my own fault, and I'm not out here looking for sympathy."

"Then why _are_ you out here?"

Melody smiled. "I was going to embarrass Wade by breaking up with him in front of a crowd of our friends and colleagues, but I decided talking to you was more important."

Punk didn't seem amused at all.

"Instead you thought you'd use me like a pawn in your game."

"What?" Melody asked, outraged.

"You're going to come up here and use me as a way to make Barrett jealous, all the while stringing me along, making me think you give a damn about my feelings, but in the end, when you've got that bastard back in your pocket telling you he loves you more than anything and that he'll never hurt you again, you'll drop me like a bad habit and never look back! Only when he hurts you again will you come crawling back to me, begging me to tell you everything's going to be all right."

Tears burned in Melody's eyes.

"You should talk about games. How about that time you entrapped me in this fantasy world where you and me were going to be together forever only to find out that you'd been lying all along! So I try to pick up the pieces and get my life back to normal only to find you'd shut me out completely!" Sobs shook her body. "Don't you remember? We were friends before we were lovers. How could you ever accuse me of something so horrible? I would never do anything to deliberately hurt you!"

He sank so low he almost melded with the ground. She saw his eyes roll upwards as he tried to blink back tears.

"Goddamnit, Mel—I never wanted this to happen to us," he choked out.

They sat in silence for a while as they calmed themselves down. Punk looked over at her and saw she was shivering.

"You're shaking. Take my jacket."

"No, you'll freeze to death."

"Not before you. C'mon, take it."

She looked over at him, fragility in her eyes.

"Can you put your arms around me instead? That way we'll both be warm."

He motioned for her to slide in front of him. She leaned back against his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her. She relished the smell of him, the feel of his embrace—things she'd missed dearly in the time they'd been apart.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you. I don't really believe all that stuff I said. I don't know why I exploded like that," he said softly into her ear.

"It's okay. You're upset and rightly so. You've been put through the wringer lately."

"We both have," he said. "It still didn't give me the right to yell at you."

"I forgive you," she said with a smile. "I shouldn't have yelled at you either."

He was quiet for a long while. She was starting to wonder if he hadn't gone to sleep when he cleared his throat.

"Melody?" he said gently.

"Yeah?"

"Were you really going to end it with Barrett?"

"Yeah, I was."

"You're certain this time?"

"There's no doubt left in me whatsoever. I'm through with him."

"Promise me something then."

"What is it?"

"Don't ever leave me again."

She turned around and looked into his glimmering olive eyes.

"I promise."


	25. Fault

Melody awoke to the sound of a commotion in the hallway. Amidst the stomping, banging, and the arguing, one voice bellowed out above the others, "Where is she?". Melody felt her stomach clench tight, knowing exactly what was coming.

The clock on the bedside table showed it was just past four in the morning. She and Punk had come back to his room and they'd talked for hours, but they must have fallen asleep. This was a grave mistake—she'd abandoned Wade at the party and now he'd come looking for her, and judging by the sound of things, he was drunk and very angry.

By this time, Punk was stirring in the bed beside her.

"What the hell's going on out there?" he asked sleepily, rubbing at his eyes.

There was a massive bang on the door.

"Melody, you filthy whore, I'm ordering you to come out here! NOW!"

She sat frozen on the bed, hurt by his words and fearful of his anger. She heard the voices of several others out in the hallway trying to talk Wade into leaving.

"Melody! I know you're in there with that disgusting ingrate. There's no use hiding—come OUT!"

Another blow cracked against the door.

Punk nudged her gently, breaking her out of her petrified state.

"Do you want me to answer him?"

"No," she whispered. "He's drunk, I can tell. He'll start a fight."

"I'm not afraid of him," Punk said with determination.

She shook her head. "I don't want any fighting."

"Melody!" Wade screamed.

Another resounding blow pummeled the door.

"Then you've got to do something, Mel." He put a reassuring hand on her back. "I'm here for you."

Melody nodded with resolve. She stood and walked slowly to the door. She peered through the peephole at his disheveled appearance and felt a stab of regret that it had come to this.

"Wade," she said gently.

"Melody? Come out here so I can see you!"

"No, Wade. I'm not coming anywhere near you until you sober up."

"I'm perfectly fine," he slurred.

"Perfectly fine? You're stomping down the hallway at four in the morning, beating on doors and screaming at the top of your lungs. You're acting crazy!"

"Acting crazy?" he said incredulously, "You've brought this all upon yourself, you heartless bitch! You send me off so you can fuck that grotbag loser. Is that how it is?"

She closed her eyes and sighed.

"You don't know what you're talking about. Go lay down somewhere, sleep a while, and when you wake up, maybe then I'll think about talking to you again."

There was a long silence. Melody looked through the peephole to see if he hadn't gone. She found him standing there, leaning against the door, his head down. When at last he spoke there was anguish in his voice.

"Don't do this to me, Mel. Don't send me away. I need you."

She faltered, but she could feel Punk's eyes on her, testing her will to withstand Wade's pleas.

"I'll talk to you later. Get some sleep," she said.

She watched as his friends pulled him from the door and guided him away down the hall and out of sight. Melody sank down to the floor, completely exhausted by the confrontation. Punk crawled off the bed and sat down on the floor beside her, pulling her into his embrace.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Not really," she said with a rueful smile, "but it went as well as it could have, I guess."

"Don't feel bad for him. Just remember, before he showed up boo-hooing you were ready to kick him to the curb in front of a party full of his friends and coworkers. I think this way he's getting off easy."

They sat in silence for a while, pondering what had just happened. Melody was in shock about Wade's behavior. She'd seen him drunk plenty of times and she'd seen him angry even more, but he'd never lashed out like that. She knew that he was thinking she'd cheated on him and it would be hard not to providing the circumstances. Even so, she never predicted he would react in that way. It distressed her even further over how distraught he'd become. However, she'd accepted long ago that there was going to be no easy way out of this. A friendly parting of ways was way out of the picture at this point.

Melody looked over at Punk. He'd been sitting in silence for a while now, absentmindedly tracing circles on her back. She could tell something was on his mind.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked him softly.

He hesitated before asking, "When are you going to talk to him?"

"He'll be catching a flight home today. I think I'll see if I can catch a later flight, that way I can talk to him privately at home. I've decided group confrontations are for the birds."

He gazed at her attentively. "I worry about you facing him alone. What if he acts the same way he did tonight?"

"I'm not concerned with him trying to hurt me. He's all talk."

"That's not what I meant. I hope he has better sense than to harm you, because then he'd have to answer to me among others. I meant that I worry that you won't be able to see through his bullshit."

Melody frowned. She wanted to say he was wrong but she knew she had to agree. Wade could put her under his spell in the blink of an eye. Perhaps the hardest part of their coming talk would be ignoring his tricks and seeing things for what they are.

"I know one thing's for certain. When it comes down to it, I'm saying goodbye. It's the only way any of us will be happy again."


	26. Captive

A few hours passed before Melody could talk herself into leaving the safety of Punk's room. Neither of them slept a wink the rest of the night. The pain and anger in Wade's voice was echoing through Melody's head, haunting her. Punk had watched her anxiously, dreading the time when she would leave, dreading the exchange that was yet to come. He urged her to stay with him a while longer, but she knew she must be going. She called Wade and, as she'd hoped, got his voicemail.

"Wade…it's me. I just wanted to let you know that I'll be home later on this afternoon. We need to talk…about a lot of things. I hope you'll be there."

Punk eyed her as she hung up. They gazed at each other, unsure of what to say.

"Well…that's settled. I guess I'd better go pack."

"You want me to come with you?" he asked protectively.

"Yes. But you really shouldn't. I don't know where Wade is right now but if he sees us together it will only make things worse."

Punk nodded gravely.

"I guess this is goodbye then," he said, his expression wooden.

Melody wrapped her arms around him, holding on to him feverishly as if he were slipping away from her.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly.

"I'm scared, Phil."

He pulled her back, looking at her with concern.

"What are you scared of?"

"Everything has gone so wrong. I think I've really messed things up."

"You mean with Barrett?" he asked darkly.

"I don't want to become his enemy, but he's not the only one I'm talking about. What if I've messed things up…for us?"

Punk surprised her by smiling softly.

"You don't have to worry about that. It's true that a lot of drama has been going on through this whole thing, but I've never stopped loving you."

She could feel her heart warming in her chest, waking at the prospect that Phil could still love her after she'd betrayed him. It reminded her of the real reason she was doing this and gave her strength to face the impossible endeavor of breaking up with Wade. Impulsively, she kissed him, their first since their time spent in Chicago which seemed so long ago. When their lips parted, they gazed into each other's eyes and, for a moment, everything was right in the world.

"Will you call me once everything is settled?" he said in a voice little louder than a whisper.

"Of course," she said with a smile.

They lingered there, holding on to each other, clinging to this precious moment and praying that there were more like this to come.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

She got home around 9:00 that night, a lot later than she'd expected after facing a delay at the airport. As the cab pulled up to the house that she and Wade had shared for over a year, she quickly took note of the darkened windows. It appeared that no one was home. Annoyed and frustrated, Melody paid the driver and headed inside. Flipping the light switch inside the door, she gazed around at the kitchen. She walked through each room in the entire house, looking at the still life scene in front of her, knowing that this would be one of the last times she'd see this place she called home. It saddened her a little; she'd once thought she'd be living here—or anywhere—with Wade for the rest of her life. Shaking off the memories that were flooding in, she turned off all the lights and crawled up on the bed. The time was 9:52. _Where could he be?_

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The sound of her ringing phone woke her from a deep slumber. She squinted at the bright screen and noted two things: that it was well past two in the morning and that of all people, Heath Slater was calling her. Warily, she answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Melody. It's Heath."

She could hear music and chattering in the background, and guessed he was calling from a bar.

"What's up?"

"Well...," he said, hesitance heavy in his voice. "…I was ordered not to call you, but I think you ought to know."

"Know what?" Melody asked, growing impatient.

"Wade's out here at Rogue Tavern and he's pretty messed up. I've been trying to talk him into going home but he won't budge. I guess he's still pretty upset about last night."

Melody felt herself becoming annoyed. She'd never known Wade to be a heavy drinker and suddenly he was getting wasted every night. She thought seriously about telling Heath she didn't care what Wade was doing, but instead she said she'd be on her way.

The bar was only a few blocks from their house, a place they'd visited on several occasions. Inside, she could easily pick out Wade and Heath among the dwindling patrons. Heath noticed her right away and walked over to meet her, a worry etched on his face. She looked past him to see Wade slumped over in his chair, his face buried in his hands.

"Boy am I glad to see you," Heath said in his thick Virginian accent.

"What's wrong with him?" Melody said with a hint of disgust.

"I don't know, Mel. Do you think it has something to do with you cheating on him?"

"I didn't cheat on him," Melody said through clenched teeth. "For your information, he's the one screwing around again. But you probably already knew that, didn't you?"

Heath looked sheepishly at his feet. She took a deep breath, calming herself.

"I'll go talk to him."

He nodded and hung back, watching them from afar.

Melody slid into the chair beside Wade. When he didn't look up, she prompted him gently.

"Wade?"

He uncovered his face, staring at her blankly. He looked truly horrible, not at all like the man she knew and loved.

"Melody? What are you doing here?" he slurred.

"I've come to take you home. It appears that you've had enough to drink."

"I'm not going anywhere with you," he said thickly, too drunk to sound truly angry.

"I know you're upset, but you have to give me a chance to explain—"

"How could you, Mel? You were supposed to be there!"

"Wade, this is not the time. Let's go home, please? We'll talk tomorrow when you're feeling better."

His face screwed up and he started to sob, collapsing in a heap on the table.

Melody shot a look at Heath who looked just as baffled as she was. This was completely out of character for Wade, even if he was horribly drunk.

"It's okay," she said, rubbing his back.

"Don't leave me, Mel," he sobbed.

It was the worst possible thing he could have said. How could she tell him the truth in the state he was in? If she didn't, she would be lying. Suddenly she felt trapped, like a victim bound and gagged, never to be free from her captor's game.

"I'm not leaving," she said, and it took all she had to fight off the stinging tears welling in her eyes.


	27. Leaving

**A/N: Yet again, sorry for the delay. Hope you all had a happy holiday season and I think many of you will be pleased with the outcome of this chapter. :) Happy reading!**

After a sleepless night, Melody spent much of the day pacing around the house, trying to talk herself out of simply running away. Upon returning home in the early hours of the morning and with the help of Heath, she'd managed to drag Wade up the stairs and put him in bed after which he quickly fell into a deep sleep.

"Thanks for everything. You've been a great help," she'd said as she walked Heath to the door.

He lingered outside, looking unsure of himself.

"Are you going to be okay?" he asked softly.

Melody gazed at him dubiously.

"It's just that…you seem pretty upset," he added.

"I am upset. Wade's never been like this before. With every day that passes he's becoming more of a stranger to me."

"You've got to take it easy on him. He loves you so much. You're just about all he thinks of."

Melody scoffed. "Just about, maybe—but definitely not all."

He considered her a moment.

"I know you're upset about the Maryse thing, and I don't blame you. I don't get it either if it's any consolation, but I know for sure he loves you more than anything. That's why he was so upset when you were…_with_ Punk last night."

Melody crossed her arms. The conversation had officially become too personal.

"I appreciate your help, and I'm glad you looked after Wade. You're a good friend to him."

Heath took the hint and dropped the subject.

"You're welcome. I'll see you around."

She'd shut the door behind him with doubt further building, and a newfound hatred for Heath Slater for making her feel this way.

The night and the following morning had passed very slowly. She'd made up her mind that no matter what happened, she was going home to spend Christmas with her family. She needed some time away and this was the perfect opportunity. She tried to stay busy, packing her bags, catching up on neglected housework, watching stupid reality shows on TV, but her mind was too burdened to pay much attention to anything. She wondered about what would happen when Wade woke up. She wondered about Punk—where he was, what he was doing, if his faith in her remained with each hour that passed.

It was early afternoon when she made her way up the stairs. She'd been checking on Wade every now and then. His condition had been the same each time—sound-asleep and completely oblivious to her presence. However, this time when she opened the door and peered inside, she found him sitting upright on the edge of the bed, his back to the door. She approached him slowly and cautiously, a strange fear bubbling in the pit of her stomach.

She eased onto the bed beside him, and put a hand on his back.

"How are you feeling?" she asked softly.

"Miserable," he grunted. An uneasy silence filled the room until at last he said, "I expected you'd be gone by now."

"Gone?"

"Wasn't it your plan all along?"

Melody looked at him, baffled.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play stupid. Mike told me everything about your grand scheme."

_Mike Mizanin. Should have known he couldn't keep his big mouth shut._

She realized Wade was now studying her.

"Looks like you remember," he said with a disdainful smile. "I didn't believe him at first, I thought there was no way you of all people could be so cruel. I kept asking around, hoping someone had seen you somewhere, becoming more embarrassed each time they said they hadn't seen you at all. It was when I asked Beth that my fears started coming true. She didn't want to say anything at first, but after some goading she said you'd went off with _him._ It turned out things were even worse than I could imagine. You dumped me at a Christmas party to go have sex with another man, if you can call him that."

"I _didn't_ have sex with him," she said angrily.

"Even if that's true, you were still going to leave me that night, weren't you?"

Melody looked at the floor.

"I was angry. I'm still angry."

"And what on Earth have you to be angry about?"

"Please, Wade. Do you think I'm some kind of moron? I know you've been screwing around with Maryse behind my back again so let's end the pity party now before you end up making an ass out of yourself."

He sighed and cradled his head in his hands.

"How long have you known?"

"For a while now."

"And you weren't going to say anything?"

"I figured I might as well not. What would be the point? You didn't change the last time I caught you so why would things be any different this time?"

She stood up, walking toward the door. She paused midway, and turned around. Wade's eyes, full of sadness, were on her.

"Why'd you do it, Wade? You promised over and over again that you were going to make things right and you just keep fucking up. What, am I not as pretty as her? Do I not satisfy you? Please tell me, because I've got to know why you decided to flush this relationship down the fucking toilet!"

"Because I'm a miserable, fucking cheat—is that what you want to hear?" he yelled. He grabbed his head as it pulsed with the headache he'd been granted from his night out drinking.

"No, it's not what I want to hear. I want you to take some time and ask yourself that question, and I want you to really think about it. Maybe one day you'll realize you let something really good slip away."

She could feel the tears coming on so she walked out of the room. As she descended the stairs, she could hear him coming after her.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going home to see my family for Christmas."

"You're leaving. Just like that?"

"It's gone on long enough. I can't keep running in circles with you."

He stood at the foot of the stairs, watching her grabbing the suitcase she'd packed while he was asleep, helpless to stop her this time.

"You should be proud. You've succeeded in doing something to me that no other woman has done."

She stopped what she was doing and gave him a long look.

"What is that?"

"You've broken my heart."

Melody stared at him, stone-faced.

"Is that supposed to make me feel bad?"

She pulled on her jacket, and walked out the door. Her heart beating wildly in her chest, she urged herself forward, making herself promise not to look back. She put her bag in the trunk and climbed behind the wheel. As she drove away, she burst into tears. Unlike him, her heart had been broken long ago, but the pain still lingered on.


	28. Numb

Since her life with Wade had ended, Melody had shut herself off from the world, or at least as best she could. The news of their breakup must have gotten out already; she'd received a dozen phone calls that went unanswered. Most had come from Punk who'd left worrisome voicemails pleading with her to let him know she was ok, but she couldn't bring herself to call him. She couldn't explain why she felt so afraid to face him now that things were finally over with Wade. The great relief she'd expected didn't come after the breakup. Instead there came an overwhelming numbness, like she'd been walking in a dream and had awakened with no sense of who she really was. These thoughts scared her even more. She had been so dependent on this relationship that it had almost destroyed her.

Her holiday was short and she was thankful for it. It would definitely go down in the record books as the worst Christmas ever. She bid her family farewell and thanked them for their support over the last few days. They'd tried their best to take her mind off things and lift her spirits, another thing she was thankful for. She took a cab to the airport and boarded a plane to Albany, New York where Monday Night RAW would take place. The prospect of facing her coworkers was scary enough but the real daunting task lay beyond that. She would soon be reunited with Punk, for better or worse. Even scarier was the fact that the Nexus storyline had reached the point she'd been dreading. In one week, she would be forced to betray Wade in front of millions.

A few hours in a plane and a car ride later, she arrived at the arena and braced herself for what was to come. As soon as she walked in the front door, it began.

"Mel!"

Evan was standing a few yards away with Kofi Kingston, Gail, and John Morrison. He mumbled something to them and then ran to catch up with her.

"Mel, how are you?" he said with a smile.

She shook her head, tried to smile but ended up frowning.

"That's what I thought," he said, giving her a sympathetic look. He looked around the room as if checking to see if anyone was watching them. "Can I talk to you for a second?" he asked softly.

Confused by his behavior, Melody followed him into an empty room. He shut the door behind them.

"What's going on, Evan?" she asked.

"I just wanted to talk to you for a few minutes. I've been worried you know. I tried calling you as soon as I heard…you never answered."

She nodded and turned her gaze to the floor.

"I just didn't feel like talking…to anyone. I hope you're not upset."

"No, of course not. I understand you needed some space. Like I said, I was worried about you, but I'm not the only one."

She knew he was referring to Phil.

"Is he angry with me?"

"No, I don't think so. He seems sad more than anything, but it's hard to tell with him sometimes." He paused for a moment, seeming to weigh something in his mind. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but what exactly is going on with the two of you?"

Melody recounted the story from the night of the Christmas party. She told him about Beth coming to her and confessing that she wasn't really dating Punk. She told him about how she'd spent the night talking to Punk and how Wade had come looking for her. She told him that she'd promised Punk she was ending it with Wade and she explained the events that led up to the split. Then she confessed that she couldn't talk to Punk afterwards, that things seemed so broken with her relationship over and how she was scared to start a new one.

"It all sounds perfectly reasonable to me. You just got out of a long term relationship. I don't blame you for not wanting to jump into another one so soon, and I don't think Punk will either."

"I'm so scared he'll be angry with me."

"The only way you'll know is if you talk to him. I don't think he'll be angry with you, and even if he is, it won't last. You mean so much to him."

Melody bit her lip and nodded.

Outside the room, a group of people passed by talking loudly. Evan looked at the door as if he expected to see someone burst in. He dropped his voice, speaking little louder than a whisper.

"There's something else I need to tell you. I wanted to get to you before anyone else so I could warn you."

"About what?" Melody asked worriedly.

"Maryse. She's gotten the idea that Mike broke up with her because of you and she's pissed."

Melody rolled her eyes. This was not something she wanted to deal with right now.

"She's crazy. Mike asked for my advice and I gave him my opinion—that's it. I didn't force him into it."

"That's not the only reason she's angry. The rumor is that she approached Wade over the holidays and he told her off, damaged her pride in front of a crowd of onlookers."

"What did he say?"

"Basically that he doesn't want anything to do with her."

Melody recognized this was an effort on Wade's part to save face, but nonetheless it made her happy to know that he had given up Maryse. Too bad it had come at the cost of their relationship ending.

"Maryse has it out for you. I thought you should know before she tracks you down."

"I'm not too worried about her, but thanks for the warning. And thanks for…well, everything."

"No problem, Mel."

She shouldered her bag and began to leave but stopped short.

"So, do you want to walk with me to the locker room?"

"You want me to be your bodyguard?" he asked with a smile.

"It's a big job. I've got a lot of people who hate me now. Think you can handle it?"

"No one hates you, Mel. Except maybe Maryse…" he said playfully. "But I will walk with you, if you'd like."

They left together, and she was glad to have Evan on her side.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

As Melody made her way through the backstage area, she fought a losing battle with her nerves. After her talk with Evan, she knew she must face Punk and the sooner the better. She asked around and discovered that Punk was hanging around outside the arena. She walked out the exit into the parking area and looked around, unsure of where to start.

"Looking for somebody?"

She spun around, startled. She found Punk leaning casually against the wall behind her.

"You scared me," she said as she tried to keep her heart from beating out of her chest.

He smiled a little.

"Long time no see."

She leaned against the wall beside him.

"I'm sorry. I kind of lost myself after…"

"It's okay, Mel. I completely understand. I just wish you would have called me if for no other reason than to say you were okay."

"I wasn't okay. I'm still not okay. I thought things would be so much easier when I left him, but instead I feel like I've got a hole in my chest. I feel like I've been ripped apart, and I know that's not what you wanted to hear from me. That's why I was scared to talk to you. I didn't want to let you down any more than I already have."

"Why do you think you've let me down?" he asked, gazing at her intently.

She shrugged.

"I left you behind once. I don't want to leave you behind again."

His olive eyes burned into hers for a moment that seemed to last a lifetime. The spell was broken when he pulled her into his arms.

"I don't expect you to be okay. I knew all along that this was going to be hard for you—it's always hard to let someone go when you love them. You were there when my last relationship was over—I was a mess, but you helped me through it, just like I'm going to help you through this. It takes a lot of strength to do what you did. You didn't let me down—I'm proud of you."

"What about us?" she asked.

"There's no rush. Whenever you're ready, I'll be waiting for you."

She held onto him tightly, happy to hear him say those things. As always she felt so much better when she was around him and the numbness she'd felt was finally subsiding.


	29. Closure

A/N: Hello readers. Sorry for the (very) long delay. Due to a huge array of circumstances, I haven't had the time or creativity to write lately, but I'm back with a new chapter. We're rounding up on the end of this fic, and it has been a lot of fun writing it as well as getting such great feedback from everyone. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys and let me know what you think!

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Three swift knocks sounded on the dressing room door.

"Melody? Are you ready to go?"

She took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Ready."

Melody emerged from the dressing room and accompanied the director through the backstage area. There were only two hours left until the beginning of the first RAW of the new year, and the beginning of the "new Nexus". They were about to rehearse Wade's re-emergence where he would challenge Punk as the real leader of Nexus. It was the first time Wade would be appearing on TV since his loss to Cena at the TLC pay-per-view. It would also be her first time seeing him since they'd split up nearly two weeks ago. She reached the curtain and found the other members of Nexus waiting around for their cue. The men politely greeted her, all except Heath who looked the other way. She suspected he was not her biggest fan since he'd been dealing with Wade since the break-up.

She looked at the monitor and felt mixed emotions when seeing the two men who'd been fighting over her in the ring at the same time. Punk was standing casually to the side, leaning against the ropes, but his eyes were locked on the larger man. Wade was still as a statue, arms folded, a disapproving sneer on his face, looking back at the man he blamed for losing his girlfriend. Neither man seemed to be hearing a word the director was saying, but instead were focusing all their energy into not tearing each other apart.

As Wade and Punk began their dialogue, the floor director gave the rest of them directions.

"When Wade calls you out, that will be your cue. Melody, you'll be in the front, speaking for the group. The rest of you line up behind her."

They nodded in agreement. Shortly thereafter, they heard their cue.

"Nexus, get out here!"

Melody took the lead and walked down the ramp with the other Nexus members in tow. As she climbed inside the ring, she glanced at Wade. He was looking at her stone-faced, impossible to read. She took her spot in between the two men as the others fell into place behind her. Trying to stay in character as much as possible, she put on an impish smile as she began to talk.

"Wade. Punk. You both have great points, but only one of you can be our leader. If the anonymous GM is listening, I would like to make a suggestion. Why don't we have a match between Wade Barrett and CM Punk to determine who is the rightful leader of the Nexus?"

The director stepped in.

"Good job, Melody. The anonymous GM will send a message that instead there will be a three-way steel cage match to determine the number one contender for the WWE title with…"

The director continued to talk about plans for the night, but Melody couldn't focus on what he was saying. Instead she found her eyes drifting towards Wade. He was still looking at her, his expression solemn, but there were so many emotions visible in his eyes it was like she could see their entire past together all at once. Yet again she felt the pain and the realization that what they had was over. She looked to Punk who was gazing at her concernedly. She forced a smile and turned her eyes to the floor, afraid that he could see what she was feeling.

"…Any questions?" The director said as he finished his talk. Everyone shook their heads silently. He looked at all of them, puzzled by their subdued nature yet sensing there was turbulence beneath the surface.

"Ok…well, Punk, Wade you two hang back a minute, the rest of you can wait backstage until they're ready to rehearse the next segment."

As Melody exited the ring, she looked to Punk who gave her a reassuring nod. Wade was looking off into the empty arena now, taking no notice of her when she passed right by him and stepped through the ropes, dropping to the floor. Overwhelmed by the simple encounter, she took a deep breath and held it in as she walked to the back. Once they were backstage, she lingered by the monitor, watching the two men talking to the director.

"You coming, Mel?" Justin asked.

"Yeah…" she said distractedly.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said with a forced smile. "Go ahead. I'll catch up."

She watched as he walked away with Heath, Husky, Michael, and David. Once they were gone, she breathed in and out slowly, trying to steady herself and wishing she wasn't such an emotional wreck all the time. If she made it through this night in one piece, she would consider herself very lucky.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the approaching voices of several divas. Among them she picked out the distinctive French-Canadian lilt that belonged only to Maryse. As she spotted them rounding the corner, she saw she was being followed by her usual partner in crime, Alicia Fox, as well as Melina and the Bella twins. Her hopes that they would pass by without a confrontation were dashed when Maryse very purposefully pushed past her, shoving her backwards.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Melody," she said sarcastically.

"You should watch where you're going," Melody replied darkly.

"Why don't you tell Wade I said hello," she said with a sinister smile. The other divas giggled behind her. "Oh, that's right. Didn't you two break up? What a shame."

Melody nodded, an empty smile on her face.

"That's right. We did break up. You see, I heard he was sleeping around with some slut who opens her legs to every man in the WWE so I just had to let him go."

"You're the slut!" she hissed. "You were sleeping around with Punk the whole time! Not to mention Mike who will sleep with any girl who even looks at him!"

"I didn't sleep with your boyfriend. I wouldn't expect you to understand this, but you can actually talk to a guy without having to fuck him."

By this point, they were starting to draw attention. Melody started to walk away but, she felt Maryse grab her arm.

"You won't get away with talking to me like that!"

Before she could react, Maryse drew back her hand and slapped her across the face.

All instincts were driving Melody to react. She wanted desperately to beat some sense into that bitch and teach her a lesson once and for all. Her fists were balling up, she was ready to attack if one more false move was made.

"Melody, are you all right?"

It was Wade. He put a hand on her lower back, a sentiment she hadn't expected.

"Just having a little chat with Maryse," she said through clenched teeth.

"Is there a problem here?" Wade asked looking at the other girls.

"_She _picked a fight with me," Maryse whined.

"Don't be an idiot. I saw you slap her."

He closed in on Maryse. His voice was low but firm enough so that everyone could hear him as he spoke.

"I thought I told you to leave her alone. She's done nothing to you. You make one more threat against her, and I'll report you to Vince myself for starting fights backstage, and next time, I won't stop her from beating you."

Pouting, Maryse attempted to latch onto Wade. He shrugged her off and backed away.

"What part of 'it's over' don't you understand? Don't make me embarrass you."

Tears in her eyes, she turned and stomped away with her gang running after her.

"There's nothing to see here," Wade said loudly to everyone else that had gathered around. The disappointed crowd of spectators cleared out quickly. Once everyone was gone, Wade turned to Melody.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," she said softly. "I could have handled her myself, you know."

"I know," he said with a small smile, "but I thought I'd save you the fines you'd rack up from beating up a coworker."

She grinned. "Thanks."

Wade started to leave, but he stopped himself.

"You know, tonight is my last night on RAW. I think myself and a few others were planning on going out after the show. I would like it if you came."

Melody hesitated. This was dangerous territory to be getting into right now.

Seeing her uncertainty, he quickly added, "Of course, I understand if you don't. I know it's a bit…awkward considering we're…no longer together—"

"—I would like to be there," she said. "I think we should talk before you leave."

"Good," he said. "And feel free to invite…" he stopped, unable to say Punk's name.  
Melody nodded. "Thanks. He'll appreciate that."

Before things could get any more uncomfortable, Punk walked up. His eyes flashed between them suspiciously.

"No worries. I was just going," Wade said. He rounded the corner, and he was gone.

Punk looked to Melody.

"What's going on back here? They said Maryse was trying to start something."

"She started talking trash, and she slapped me but I figured she owed me one. I thought about beating her up, but Wade scared her off."

"Hmm…"

"He asked if I wanted to come to his send off tonight," Melody said with reluctance, "and he invited you too."

Punk raised his eyebrows.

"Interesting. What did you tell him?"

"Well…I told him I wanted to talk to him before he left."

Punk nodded.

When he said nothing, she gingerly asked, "What do you think?"

He smiled and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"I think you should go. I understand you wanting to talk to him, and I think it will help both of you find closure."

"Really? You're not afraid of what might go wrong?"

"Are you?"

Melody thought about his question. If he had no doubts, then why should she?

"No, I'm not," she said. "But I guess that leaves only one question."

"What's that?"

"Are you coming with me?"

Punk sighed, his trademark grin gracing his lips.

"Well, he only wanted to kill me up until a few minutes ago, but yes, I'll go with you to your ex-boyfriend's sendoff party. However, you'll owe me big time for this."

She put her arms around his waist and lay her head against his chest. She looked up into his olive eyes and smiled.

"I'll find some way to repay you."


End file.
